We were barely making ends meet but that changed when we won the lottery – we went on our first holiday in 14 years

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WHILE none of us hold our breath about it, winning the lottery is something we all hope will happen to us.

The potential use of gaining thousands of pounds in a sudden moment can keep people up at night, thinking about doing everything from paying off debt to going on holiday.

A family won the lottery and it changed their livesCredit: Channel 4

Simon, Mary and the family went on holiday for the first time in 14 yearsCredit: Channel 4

They were just one family out of 400 people who won a prizeCredit: Channel 4

In an incredible stroke of luck, there’s one place that managed to win big – a total of £3.7 million to be precise.

The winners were playing the People’s Postcode Lottery, which is a variation of the normal Lotto.

It basically selects a postcode instead of numbers and then assigns a large pot for each ticket-holder on one street.

Smaller winnings are given to those who live close by and have matched the first half of their postcode.

And after catching wind of what had happened in May 2022, Channel 4 sent a documentary crew down to Rhymney, Caerphilly, in Wales, in a bid to find out how 400 people decided to spend the money.

“There are 1.8 million postcodes in the UK,” the documentary starts with Cerys Matthews informing viewers.

“So the chances of winning the monthly jackpot are slim.”

As the video panned over the valley before showing the residents holding up what they won from the incredible lottery.

One man, Ted, could be seen holding up a cheque for £185,000, before producing a second cheque with the same amount.

“It brings your total to £370,000,” one person could be heard saying as Ted smiled, clearly ecstatic to have won big. “He’s taking everybody for breakfast.”

Cerys shared that in the space of just a few hours the tight-knitted community had become 1.8 million richer.

Meanwhile, in Upper Romney, Mary and her daughter Verity were also celebrating after receiving a golden envelope with a cheque of their own.

“Open the door, golden envelope on the floor… I opened it up and this was inside,” she said holding up the £7,788 cheque.

“It felt like I’d won the Crown Jewels,” Mary explained.

“I just couldn’t stop smiling, literally could not stop smiling.”

Mary went on to share that it’s a “massive amount” of money for them that has already changed their lives.

“We’ve been able to pay some bills, we’ve been able to put some money aside because we were determined that we could go and get a caravan…

It felt like I’d won the Crown Jewels

Mary

“Because we haven’t had a holiday in 14 years.”

Besides being a mum, Mary had always worked.

Unfortunately, she had recently lost her job and the family were only just keeping their heads “above water”.

Meanwhile, Mary’s husband Simon worked all week long as a lorry driver going all around the UK.

“The last time I saw him was two o’clock Monday morning,” Mary confessed as Simon shared: “It’s good to be home, but at the same time I can earn more by being away.”

With the cost of living going up, Simon said everyone was worried and he felt determined to keep pushing through to get the bills paid.

“For Mary and Simon, their windfalls brought some much-needed sunshine to their lives,” Cerys continued.

The couple travelled down to Devon for their first holiday as a family in 14 years.

Simon said: “This is my first time ever for a fortnight’s holiday.

“Now this has been amazing and I think we must have picked the two best weeks of the year so far.”

While Mary said that her family had laughed more in the weeks they were on holiday than they had that entire year.

We haven’t had a holiday in 14 years

Mary

She explained that on an average day, she would hear them playing on their Xbox or PlayStation and that’s it.

But on their vacation, they played outside and enjoyed quality time together.

Simon then spoke out about how many people, including himself, pushed on through work for “so long”, but it eventually comes to a point where you wonder what you’re doing it for.

“So for me,” he said, “the holiday is an absolute battery recharge and it’s like, yeah, let’s go again.”

While some people thought it was a heartwarming story, others couldn’t help but share what they would do differently.