Living in the Lang Toun proved lucky for hundreds of Kirkcaldy residents on Saturday as they shared an amazing £3 million prize through the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Players in the KY2 6 postcode area all headed to the town’s Beveridge Park knowing that the minimum they could expect was £500, having been sent an official invite to a special ceremony to find out exactly how much they had won.
And while many will have been over the moon with boosting their bank balance by that amount, for some the events of Saturday morning produced potentially life-changing sums of money.
In fact, a total of 753 people scooped prizes – with the minimum prize turning out to be a very healthy £2,094.
But Elizabeth Smith, 66, was the big winner, with her two tickets earning her an incredible £491,040 as KY2 6NT was revealed as the winning postcode.
“It’s just fantastic – I’ve never won anything like this before,” said a gobsmacked Mrs Smith.
“It feels great.
“I got the envelope for the £4,000 first of all and I thought ‘this is great’ because I’ve never won that amount of money before.
“But then they ripped that up on stage when the postcode came up, and when I got the first cheque I thought: “Oh my God, I can’t believe it.”
“To get the second one because I’ve got two tickets, it’s just fantastic.”
Mrs Smith, who used to work in numerous factories in Hull, has been playing for 10 years and narrowly missed out on £25,000 in the game’s early days when her old postcode KY1 was drawn in the street prize – although she had only just signed up to play and was not eligible.
Her patience and persistence has certainly paid off now though.
A holiday to Toronto in Canada might well be on the cards, Mrs Smith said, although her two sons and 13 grandchildren will no doubt feel the benefits.
“That’s my first priority, my kids,” she added.
“And I’m going to treat my 16-year-old granddaughter Rebecca to her university fees.”
Asked what her first purchase might be, Mrs Smith added: “I don’t need anything first really.
“We’ve worked all of our days and got what we wanted.
“My husband Andy can’t drive now because he took a stroke, so it might have been a new car.
“I might get a chauffeur right enough!”
Mrs Smith went on to reveal that she had kept fairly quiet about her chances of a windfall in the days leading up to Saturday’s event.
“We got the golden envelope on the Wednesday and I had to phone up to make sure it was real,” she continued.
“I made the decision not to tell anyone and just go along and see. When we heard that the least you could get was £500, I thought I would get at least £1,000 anyway.
“But I would never have dreamed of getting this.”
There were plenty of smiling faces as the cheques were handed out at a ceremony hosted by Postcode Lottery ambassadors Matt Johnson and Judie McCourt.
Those wearing white wristbands took home £2,094, while those with black wristbands – the ones who had two tickets – won £4,188.
Purple wristband wearers, those with three tickets, scooped £6,282, but it wasn’t until the winning postcode of KY2 6NT was read out that the six-figure sums of cash were dished out.
George Wight, 68, Katy Honeyman, 35, and Lorraine Reilly, 58, were all pretty much speechless as they each received cheques for £245,520, before Mrs Smith did likewise.
However, host Judie took great pleasure in telling her – and the crowd – that Mrs Smith had two tickets, which meant double the cash.
Like all of the bigger winners, father-of-four and grandfather-of-two Mr Wight, who lives in the Torbain area, firstly received a cheque for £2,094 but was later summoned back to the stage for a prize many more times that.
“When I opened that envelope I was over the moon,” he said.
“That first cheque I got was unbelievable, but then I thought: “There’s something going on here.”
“I would have been happy with £500 but this is just amazing.
“I’m exhausted.”
Mr Wight already has big plans following his recent win and is looking to jet off to Australia to see his sister Jessie who he hasn’t seen in years, and also his son Charlie who lives there too.
“My son and my sister are both in Australia, Jessie’s in Perth and Charlie is in Melbourne, so I’ll do a wee tour of the country whilst I’m there.”
The retired builder is looking forward to telling all his family and friends about the win and celebrating with his children.
It’s not just Mr Wight jetting off to Australia though, as neighbour Mrs Reilly is also planning on spending her £245,520 on a trip Down Under.
“I’m going to see my boy,” she said.
“My son Jamie lives in Perth and I’ve not been out since 2011. I’ll be flying business class all the way.”
Mrs Reilly, who jumped up and down on the stage as she was told the news, was joined by her daughter Amanda Jane at the celebration.
“Amanda Jane can come to Australia and I’ll be treating her to a sun house for her new garden,” she added.
Mrs Honeyman, an admin clerk at Scottish Widows, said: “I couldn’t believe it because I was happy with the first cheque I got, but when the postcode came up I didn’t know what to expect to be honest.
“It’s definitely a life changing amount of money.
“I’m not really sure what we’re going to spend it on yet, we’ve just got to let it sink it first.”
Mrs Honeyman, who attended the event with her husband Colin, is going to use some of the money for a holiday to the USA.
“We love going to America on holiday so I would really like to book another trip over there and visit some of the places we’ve yet to see,” she said.
However, Colin has plans of his own with the winnings saying: “I’d definitely like to buy some new golf clubs and maybe some lessons too!”
Among the other winners was 104-year-old local hero Jimmy Sinclair, who won £2,094.
“I haven’t got much time to spend it,” he joked when interviewed by Matt.
Mr Sinclair, who is also known for his poetry, wrote a poem for the team at People’s Postcode Lottery when he found out he was a winner.
The poem reads, “I’ve got lots o’ friendly neighbours, I’m sure you’ll all agree, we will all have a friendly chat at the Postcode Lottery!”
There was also laughter when Joe Stirling went on stage to collect his cheque for £2,094, giving the audience a rendition of “My Girl” before his prize was handed out.
“I’m going to spend half on women and drink and squander the rest,” he said.
The Voice winner Kevin Simm provided entertainment in the main arena area, singing three songs to keep the happy crowd warmed up.
“I was delighted to be invited to perform at the Kirkcaldy Postcode Millions event today,” the former Liberty X singer said.
“It was great to see so many happy winners and learn about all the charities supported by playing. I’ll have to sign up myself now.”
