Blaydon-on-Tyne Millionaire Street

A MUM bagged a £111,111 People's Postcode Lottery prize - then discovered the man she'd bought her house from still played with the address and had won too.

Christina joined Postcode Lottery two years ago after moving into the semi with her husband and two children.

But she was shocked to be reunited with the previous owner when he arrived back in the street to pick up his winning cheque after revealing he had continued to play with his old postcode.

Clasping their winnings, the pair hugged on the road after discovering the incredible link.

Christina, of Blaydon-on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, said, "This is crazy."

The previous owner, who did not wish to be named, replied, "It's mad, isn't it? It's the house!"

Christina said, "This is surreal, but I'm happy for them too. It is nice to share this with someone else. It makes it unique and a bit of a different story."

The other player said, "We moved away about two and a half years ago, but I decided to keep the ticket. It was just on the off-chance that I won, and it looks like that's happened. I didn't think you'd be knocking at my old door.

"I'd recommend this to anyone. Always keep your ticket on the off-chance."

Christina and the other player shared £1 million with seven neighbours in Blaydon-on-Tyne after NE21 5GB landed our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Every ticket was worth £111,111.

The mum-of-two first found out she'd won People's Postcode Lottery while watching the new Deadpool movie.

She was on a cinema date with hubby Matthew to see Marvel superhero hit Deadpool & Wolverine when she started getting calls from our lottery team.

Christina said, "They phoned when I was in the cinema seeing Deadpool. I had a voicemail and an e-mail and I thought then, 'This isn't a joke'. It will change our lives."

Nursery worker Christina revealed she signed up for Postcode Lottery after an elderly relative won £2,000 in 2021.

She said, "We had a family member who won a couple of years ago and I thought, 'I want a bit of that as well'.

"I would encourage anyone to do the Postcode Lottery. I never thought I would win."

Christina and Nissan car plant worker Matthew are now planning a summer break with their eight-year-old son and daughter, aged seven. And the couple want to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary in style later this year.

She said, "I'd have been happy with £10,000 and we'd go on holiday. We're married 10 years in October and not got anything planned. That might change now.

"I don't know how to put this into words. It's a lot more than I ever thought I'd get."

Christina and her neighbours winning Millionaire Street has also meant that local charities have benefitted.

And one local organisation has been awarded £75,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

Feeding Families aims to provide relief to people experiencing food insecurity and poverty across the Northeast of England.

In the past year, over 2,000 part-time and full-time volunteers at Feeding Families have sent out more than 46,000 boxes, with over one million items packed and distributed across the region.

Juliet Sanders, founder and CEO, said, "I was trying to give an old sofa away eight years ago, and once I found someone to take it, they didn't have any means of transporting it, so I took it to their flat.

"I was shocked when I saw it was a family with young kids that had no furniture! I had to help them. I put a few messages out and, with a little bit of help and kindness from friends and family, we helped them get on their feet.

"From there, I continued to put people who were struggling in touch with those who could help. One act of kindness began to multiply and before I knew it, we had a charity," added Juliet.

Feeding Families operates from two packing centres, sending over 2,000 food boxes each month.

The charity works to continuously improve and update its offering, which includes essential food boxes, low cook boxes for those who may not be well enough to cook, toiletries and cleaning supplies boxes.

A new offering is the rough sleeper packs - with items such as high protein snacks, long-lasting food and drink and mints all included, based on the charity's research on what is needed the most.

Juliet added, "If we all take a small action, together as a community we can achieve big things - which is what our Family ethos is really about."

Other charities who have received support include:

• NE Youth - £50,000 A leading youth development charity in the North East providing positive and high-quality services, programmes and activities to support young people in the area.

• Blaydon Youth and Community Centre CIO - £50,000 Hosting a variety of classes, sports and clubs for the community for the delivery of social welfare and recreation to improve wellbeing.

• Tiny Lives Trust - £25,000 An independent charity helping to care for premature and sick newborn babies, their parents and families. They also provide additional support to a local neonatal unit.

• The Winlaton Centre - £25,000 A community centre running a range of lunch, sports and youth clubs, as well as parent and toddler groups and fitness classes, with rooms available for hire.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Deserving Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Education Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that provide education, particularly in emergency situations. Benefitting charities include Save the Children, Theirworld and UNICEF UK.

Our players are raising funds for charities and good causes across Britain and around the world. To date, People's Postcode Lottery players have raised more than £1.3 billion for thousands of deserving projects and organisations.

Not playing yet? Do you know about all the amazing Prizes our players can win? Learn about how People's Postcode Lottery works - it's really easy. Sign up to play today and help us help even more good causes.