A nan-of-eight found out she had won £30,000 the day after going under the knife to battle her cancer diagnosis.
Elaine Bailey from Whiston is one of 10 neighbours who are celebrating after winning a collective £330,000 with the People's Postcode Lottery this week.
The group of neighbours living in the postcode L35 3JS on Banner Hey meant nine neighbours won £30,000 each and a tenth won £60,000 with two tickets.
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Elaine Bailey was the last to find out after she was uncontactable whilst she underwent major surgery on her breast cancer last week.
It was only when the 66-year-old left hospital on Friday that she found out she had won thousands. She said: “£30,000 will help out an awful lot after what I’ve been through. It’s absolutely fantastic.”
The grandmother-of-eight received the news alongside her friend and neighbour Lisa Smith, 62, who also won £30,000. Elaine said: “We’ve both been ill, I’m still off work now and I’m still sick so it certainly means an awful lot.”
On the same day Elaine was discharged from hospital the lottery had tried to get in touch, she said: “I’ve only just come out of hospital on Friday, and I only found out on Friday that the lottery had been trying to get a hold of me. Lisa came round and told me, as I didn’t know anything about it.”
Lisa admitted the five-figure jackpot was meaningful for her as well after she overcame her own cancer diagnosis.
Since 2017, Lisa has been in remission after beating vocal cord cancer. After a particularly tough few years, the two friends have said they're looking forward to the future with their winnings.
Elaine said: “We’re definitely going on a holiday, probably Disney in Florida with our grandkids. They’ll be made up going to Disney, won’t they?”
Lisa also revealed her plans with her winnings is to treat her granddaughter: “She’s going to get a puppy, a dachshund puppy.”
Dad-of-four Chris Lawson, 40, couldn’t believe his luck after pocketing £60,000. He netted a double prize thanks to playing with two tickets. Chris said: “It’s a brilliant day, absolutely overwhelmed. It couldn’t be any better, just really happy to win that amount.”
His wife Anita added: “It really will make a massive difference. We have four children and we’ve been saving for years for a holiday to the Dominican, so we can pay that off and look at some excursions to really make it a holiday-of-a-lifetime.”
People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt presented the winners with their prize cheques and shared her congratulations, she said: “I’m absolutely thrilled for our ten lucky winners in Whiston near Liverpool! It’s been so special surprising so many lovely neighbours.
“It was such a joyous moment seeing all the winners coming together on the street. I hope they have a great time celebrating the win and spending the cash.”
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