Rotherham Rejoices

OVERJOYED mum-to-be Lauren Tomlinson shrugged off a year of bad news after winning £836,114 on People's Postcode Lottery - and immediately vowed to split it with her parents.

Lauren struggled to control her emotions after receiving two cheques for £418,057 each. She said: "I'll give my mum and dad one and I'll keep one. It'll be a straight-up split."

The huge win is a remarkable change in fortune for four-months-pregnant Lauren after she and her mum Andrea were diagnosed with cancer - and her dad Darren suffered a severe stroke.

Now the successful baker - who designs and creates speciality cakes with her mum in a cabin in the back garden of her semi - plans to expand her popular Tomo's Cakes business by opening a shop in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Lauren, whose baby is due in June, said: "I'm absolutely gobsmacked, this is beyond words. It is life-changing. I have absolutely unreal emotions. This is going to change all our lives forever.

"I've had cancer, my mum's had cancer, and my dad had a massive stroke. But we just get by, as you do. It will monumentally change Christmas."

She added: "We're so busy with the cakes. We had four yesterday and five booked in for today. But I will carry on doing them. I can buy a shop now - that's 100-per-cent on the cards."

Lauren bagged her prize in Rotherham after S65 3QP was announced as the winner of our £17.5m Postcode Millions prize today - our biggest-ever single prize. Every ticket in the full winning postcode was worth £418,057.

She doubled her win by playing with two tickets. Three of her neighbours also landed £418,057 each.

A further 557 players in the wider postcode sector of S65 3 also landed bumper prizes ranging from £24,266 to £97,064, depending on the number of tickets they played with.

Lauren initially believed she was in line for a much smaller prize until Postcode Lottery ambassador Matt Johnson presented her first cheque.

She threw a hand over her mouth before her knees buckled, and she shouted: "Oh my God, no way!"

When Matt pulled out a second cheque, she squealed with surprise and exclaimed: "I thought it would have been about £10,000!"

Then she held up both cheques - as neighbours drove past honking horns and shouting good wishes - and cooed: "Look how pretty they are."

It's the second reason to celebrate this year after Lauren and partner Brandon Banks discovered she was expecting a baby - despite doctors saying she might struggle to conceive after a series of cancer operations.

She said: "I had my third operation this year, and I didn't even know if I could have kids. The doctors said I would have difficulty and, if I did get pregnant, I might not keep it. But I'm four months gone today.

"My mum was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had it removed. She's been given the all-clear.

"Three weeks after that, my dad had a massive stroke, but he's very slowly getting better."

The reggae fan added: "I don't even know what I'm going to do with this money. I'll look after mum and dad and go on holiday - and I'm having a baby.

"I want to go to Thailand and Jamaica. I've always wanted to go to Jamaicia - I love Bob Marley. But we'll wait until after the baby is born."

Mum Andrea later came out to see how much her daughter had won - and the pair started crying and hugging.

Andrea said: "Ooooooh! I can't believe it. We'll have a nice holiday."

Lauren quipped: "We'll go on holiday tomorrow. I can't believe this, and I'll be saying that all day now."

Lauren told us it was a no-brainer to split the whopping win with her mum.

She said: "I take her everywhere with me every day and share everything. My mum and I are absolutely best friends and do everything together. We work together and live together. We go out shopping in the day and drinking at night. She's my bestie."

Despite becoming a near millionaire, Lauren could only think of getting back to the five birthday cakes she had to finish for customers that day.

The passionate baker - who got a cupcake tattoo on her neck when she notched up 1,000 Instagram followers - said: "I'm still just thinking about all the cakes I have to do. There are five, and they're all birthday cakes.

"I create them all in my own brain and have been doing it for just over two years. I just need to make these cakes and then I can relax. I'll phone the customers and tell them I'll be an hour or so late."

She added: "Me and my mum will be doing it with a massive smile on our faces. We're crazy busy and don't have time to do anything else."

Across the road, Audrey Jaeger-Cooper was blown away after her £418,057 win was revealed.

Now, the mum-of-one is planning to treat her husband Wayne to his dream 'Batman' car. But she's also eyeing up a trip to the Maldives and buying her sister a new front door.

Astonished Audrey said: "I would have been happy with £5,000. I'm still in shock. It just means so much, and it can help so many people."

Wayne added: "It's life-changing, the things you can do with that. Endless possibilities. I never dreamt of anything like this before."

Adoring Audrey's first hefty spend will be on her husband's dream car, a Toyota CRV, which Wayne likened to the Batmobile.

She said: "I want to get Wayne a new car. He keeps looking at a Toyota, the Batman car, in matte black. He's still driving around an old Ford Focus, but he's happy with that."

Wayne said: "I'm not a materialistic person but... I just like it, it's like the Batman car."

Audrey says her 'bucket list' holiday to the Maldives could soon be crossed off, but she's still hoping Wayne will be on the same wavelength.

She said: "The dream holiday for me would be the Maldives, but Wayne won't do a journey longer than four and a half hours because he gets bored on the plane. So, I might have to go on my own."

Wayne teased: "I might change my mind now. I might have to suffer it."

Audrey also told us that her sister needed a new door and joked that she could buy her one.

Audrey said: "My sister said if we won big that she needs a new front door. I'll buy her one and she can have a gold letterbox too."

Audrey was also excited to share her good fortune with her son Arran, a geography student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

She said: "He'll be buzzing. He's working at a karaoke bar all weekend, and he's loving it. I can't wait to tell him."

And later that day, Audrey and Wayne had more to celebrate as they watched their beloved Rotherham United trounce Northampton Town 3-0.

The couple, who are both season ticket holders, said they were debating whether to go out for a few drinks after the match before their whopping windfall decided it for them.

Audrey said: "We're definitely going out for drinks now."

Another family member they'd like to treat is Wayne's brother, Dean Cooper. Wayne added: "I bought my brother his season ticket, so he'll be getting another season ticket, that's for sure."

Audrey and Wayne, who have been married for three years, both take great pride in their gardens. Despite their massive win, they still plan on bargain-hunting for all their gardening essentials.

Audrey said: "He'll still go to the garden centre and go to the cheap aisle, where they're all discounted."

Wayne added: "We could get a proper greenhouse now. The one I've got, I bought cheap for £50."

The couple, who said it would be a very Merry Christmas, are also expanding their festive shopping list.

Audrey said: "I might be able to spoil people a bit more now, get them some extra presents. It will be a very merry Christmas for us, and for so many people in Rotherham winning, too."

The big winners later joined hundreds of their neighbours at the nearby Magna Science Adventure Centre to watch them discover what they'd won. Ambassadors Matt Johnson, Judie McCourt and Danyl Johnson gave them the good news - before Eurovision super-singer Sam Ryder turned it into a celebration party.

And big winner Lauren had another reason to celebrate after her partner's brother and wife also scooped a £24,266 cheque.

Rachel Banks and hubby Sean - who both work for Stannah Stairlifts - will blow their winnings on a month-long family trip to Florida they have already booked for 2026.

Dad-of-three Sean said: "I was in a customer's house when Rachel called to say she'd won, and me and the customer were jumping up and down.

"We're going to America for a month, and it cost nearly the amount we've won. I sent a picture of Rachel with the cheque to the travel agent and said, 'America is paid for!'"

Teary Cherie Ratcliffe picked up her £24,266 cheque after playing for just a month and said: "This is my ticket to see my girl."

Cherie has been desperate to visit her daughter Sommer since she moved to the Indonesian island of Bali and take her on an adventure-packed trip to the Philippines.

The NHS operating theatre worker said: "My daughter lives in Bali and wanted to go to the Philippines. I talked her out of it because I didn't want her to go on her own.

"Now this is my ticket to see my girl. We'll do zip-lining from one island to another, mountain climbing and kayaking.

"I've called her and told her we're going, and she's probably booked the flights already. It'll be a five-star hotel now."

She added: "I've only been playing Postcode Lottery for a month. I'd been thinking about it for a while, did it, and then wow, wow, wow."

Groom-to-be Carl Roberts only signed up on 17 November after family friends won our Millionaire Street prize in nearby Mexborough last month.

Now the steelworker - who pocketed £24,266 - will book a luxury Caribbean cruise as a honeymoon treat for fiancée Fern Higgins when they tie the knot next November.

He said: "Fern's parents' friends won in Mexborough, and Fern said we had to put it on, so we started last month.

"This is amazing. I can't believe it, especially just a month later."

He added: "That will be our honeymoon now. We want to go on a Caribbean cruise."

Ice hockey enthusiast Paul Hellewell, who played with two tickets, called his £48,532 win "life-changing" and said it was extra special as multiple family members also pocketed a prize.

He said: "Two aunties and three cousins all won. Their wins vary from £24k to £48k. It's crazy!"

Paul - who has a tattoo of the team's mascot, Steeler Dan, on his leg - added: "I'm going straight to ice hockey tonight to watch Sheffield Steelers play. I'm going to celebrate. Big Sheffield Steelers ice hockey fan. This is going to get me a season ticket."

An accident 19 years ago left Paul with limited mobility after he broke his back in three places.

Dad Paul is now looking forward to Christmas with his partner of six years, Amie. The couple share six children.

Now he wants to seize the opportunity to visit his uncle in Melbourne, Australia. On hearing news of his win, he joked: "I've got my passport in my pocket. Straight to Manchester Airport!"

Keen musician John Hill hit the high notes after bagging over £24k and told us how he'd buy himself a special Christmas present: a brand-new guitar to replace his 40-year-old Hofner Flamenco.

John said: "I'm now having a new guitar for Christmas. I've got my eye on a Cordoba, with nylon strings, classical but you can plug it in. It's brill!"

The giddy grandad-of-four, who hosted an early Christmas for some of his family at the weekend, said the winnings would go towards a visit to see his daughter in Canada.

John said: "This money has done so much. My daughter lives over in Canada, and works at ski destination, Kicking Horse Ski Resort in Golden, near Banff, in Alberta. I could fly over and see her now.

"She is coming back next May because it's her 30th, and I did say that I'd try and give her some money towards flights - she's sorted now."

Jolly John added: "Bloody hell, it's amazing to see so many people here. And I know Wayne and Audrey who have won the biggest money, it's unbelievable."

Sean Meehan picked up his £24,266 with his dad, John, and close pal Louis Thomas.

Aircraft mechanic Sean said: "It's mint to win with them. My wife and I have been saving for an extension to the house, and we'll treat our seven-month-old daughter Amelia."

Stunned plumber Louis said the cash would help with house move plans and preparations for the arrival of his second baby when his 16-week-pregnant wife Naomi gives birth.

The dad-of-one added: "I've been awake since 1am this morning. This is mad, crazy. It's a lovely surprise and will help everyone out in the area. It'll make a difference to the community."

Sean's dad, John, was picking up the cheque on behalf of his poorly wife Patricia.

He said: "This will help out with our new windows."

Terry and Carole Roebuck topped off their Golden Wedding anniversary year by scooping £97,064 as they played with four tickets.

The couple - who have two children and seven grandchildren - have already celebrated in style with the whole family.

Carole said: "We went away to a 16th-century manor house for the weekend, and it was marvellous.

"We didn't anticipate winning that much. We'll be helping our family out."

She added: "I always had a feeling that we were going to win, I just didn't know when."

Terry sobbed and said: "What a present this is."

Stunned couple Dawn and David Clark were thrilled to hear they'd each won £24,266, but they only found out at the last minute.

Neighbour Cheryl Drakeley mentioned she'd received an invite to say she was a winner, which led Dawn to wonder if she and her husband might have won as well.

Dawn said: "My daughter is Cheryl's friend, and she was at my house when Cheryl phoned and told her, then my daughter relayed it to us, and David said, 'She's got the same postcode as us,' and that's how it came about."

Lorry driver David, who has been with his wife Dawn for 42 years, then phoned Postcode Lottery to confirm.

It follows a tough period for the couple after David woke up one morning a few months ago unable to see, leading to the discovery of a very rare condition impacting his sight. Thankfully, his condition is improving and controllable with medication.

On what they want to spend their winnings on first, grandmother Dawn said: "A holiday! Going to take the grandchildren. We were going to take them this year, and then the day before we were meant to fly, he got diagnosed and told he couldn't fly, so I had to tell my three grandchildren we couldn't go. Suitcases were packed and everything."

Emotional Mal Tomlinson told us how she rejoined Postcode Lottery in the summer when her husband Bill passed away unexpectedly and his two-ticket subscription lapsed.

The mum-of-two and grandmother - supported by deputy head teacher daughter Sarah McVeigh - wept as she clutched a cheque for £48,532.

She said: "Given the year I've had this couldn't have come at a better time.

"I'll make sure the whole family can go on a holiday as a thank you for all the help they've been. I couldn't have got through the last six months without them."

Mal, who is waiting for a knee replacement, added: "I want it to be somewhere that, as a family, we thought we'd never be able to go to."

Local good causes close to the winners in Rotherham have also benefitted from money raised by Postcode Lottery players.

Headway Rotherham, based in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, received £25,000 in funding this year. The UK-wide charity works to improve the lives of people after brain injury. It offers a variety of services and support, including a freephone helpline, an emergency assist, and Headway Acute Trauma Support (HATS) nurses to support families with loved ones at a critical stage of care.

Good Causes Everywhere

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Justice Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that help improve lives by delivering justice, human rights and equality. Benefitting charities include Helen Bamber Foundation, Women for Women International and Amnesty International UK.

With 33% of the ticket price going to deserving projects, players of People's Postcode Lottery have now raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of charities and good causes across Great Britain, as well as internationally.

Have you been thinking about playing People's Postcode Lottery but not set up your subscription yet? There are Prizes announced every day. Find out more about How It Works. Sign up to play and join the fun.