Whitley Bay residents' joy after winning big on the People's Postcode Lottery

Ten neighbours on Kingsley Avenue, in Whitley Bay, are celebrating as they have each won £83,333 after NE25 8RX was selected as the Postcode Lottery's weekly Millionaire Street prize.

The winning draw was made today (Saturday, January 13), with the residents now planning what to spend their winnings on.

Paul Rendles, 64, and his wife Elaine, also 64, scoped £166,666 after they bought two tickets for the draw.

The pair started to enter the Postcode Lottery when a social worker for their youngest daughter scooped a £400,000 windfall.

Dad-of-three Paul revealed: "Our daughter's social worker won the Postcode Lottery a few years ago. He was the best social worker in the North East and won £400,000 with two tickets.

"When he told me, I said ‘right, I’m going to get a ticket today’ and I’ve done it ever since. Then I decided to get two tickets.”

The former foster parents are now planning to help their children, and three grandchildren, as well as heading off on a Mediterranean break.

Elaine, who is a former midwife, commented: “My mum, who has now passed away, used to live in Majorca and we would go out on a regular basis. We haven’t been since three or four years before Covid. 

“We also haven’t had a holiday on our own for 22 years. It would be great to go to Majorca or somewhere similar."

The couple adopted their eldest daughter Courtney after they returned home with their son Craig from a stint of working in Mississippi in the US.

They then started fostering and went on to adopt their first foster baby Letita, now 22, who has additional support needs.

Elaine added: “We gave up our jobs after we adopted Letitia. This has been our life since then. We are obviously very close knit with the fostering community and other disabled groups since then.

“Our other daughter is getting married in August and our son next year. Both of them have said that they are literally skimping, although the weddings are all booked and paid for.”

Susan Dodds, another resident on the street, entered the Postcode Lottery in the hopes of winning enough to help redecorate her staircase.

Now the 66-year-old is planning a brand new kitchen and a trip abroad to see two of her children.

The mum-of-three said: “I thought the prize was going to be about £1,000 and I would get my staircase painted.

"I thought I could get that sorted and it would still leave me with a few pounds to do some other things with. 

“But when I saw the amount, I thought I can get a new kitchen and paint the staircase. I’ve been thinking about a kitchen for a long, long time. I’ve been here for 40 years.

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“It would be lovely if I could go and see them and it’s now worth having a look into. This gives me options today.

“I’d like to help my children. I would love to be able to say to them ‘there you go’.”

Due to the Whitley Bay postcode winning, local charities have now also benefitted from the Postcode Community Trust.

As a result, the North Tyneside Disability Forum has been awarded £50,000, with the North Tyneside Art Studio, The Bay Foodback and NACCOM also receiving £25,000 each.