Two neighbours from Brechin won a remarkable £239,663 each after their postcode was picked by the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Sheila Black and Susan Lindsay, who live next to each other in Latch Road, were clearly overcome by emotions as they were presented their bumper cheques at the House of Dun.
The People’s Postcode Lottery split the £3m prize pool among 245 winners in the DD9 6 area, with each ticket being worth £8,816.
At Saturday’s event it was revealed what the exact winning postcode was, which saw the two women scoop the six-figure sums in the DD9 6JH postcode.
Sheila and Susan had previously been presented with cheques for £8,816 on stage but returned to receive their huge win after the winning postcode was revealed.
Susan, 52, a former office worker at Andover Primary School, said: “I’m totally overwhelmed – you really don’t think it’s going to happen to you.
“It’s totally life changing. I can treat the family and do things we wouldn’t have done before. What I’ll do with it, I don’t know, but it will be something lovely.”
The mother of two who has lived in Brechin all her life added: “I was on my cousin’s hen party last night in Glasgow, but we were invited to come up in a chauffeur driven car and we took the chance.
“I’m going back to the hen party now, so they’ll be expecting some champagne now.”
Her husband Murray added: “I remember reading about people in Brechin winning the Postcode Lottery in The Courier and I said to Susan we should have been playing that and she replied – I do.
“I didn’t even know she bought a ticket. It’s hard to take it all in.”
Sheila, 64, who used to work at the Co-Op in Brechin, attended the event with her niece Kim Elder.
She said: “It hasn’t really sunk in. My son Kevin lives in Melbourne and I am going to use the money to go and visit him.
“I’ve never really thought about what to do with that amount of money.
“I would have been happy with the £8,816 but I couldn’t believe it when my postcode came.”
Suzanne Arthur, who is expecting with twins, was celebrating a £17,632 win with her husband Kenny thanks to holding two tickets.
She said: “It feels amazing to win so much. The money comes in handy with the babies due next month.
“We have a four-year-old and a three-year-old but we weren’t having anymore so we sold everything on and now we have to buy two of everything again.
“We don’t know what we’re having so it will be another surprise.”
The event was hosted by the lottery’s ambassadors Jeff Brazier and Judie McCourt.
Jeff said: “It’s very beautiful here. Scotland is unmatched for its countryside which always goes down very well with me.
“House of Dun is incredibly picturesque. I’m going to do the full tour later.
“It’s great to give away so much money. A few people’s lives are going to change.
“The money always seems to find its way into the right hands.”
John McKenna, property manager at House of Dun, added: “We are delighted that the People’s Postcode Lottery chose the House of Dun as the venue for today’s event.
“The National Trust has benefited from the Postcode Lottery in the past so it’s great to keep that link going.
“I just wish I’d bought a ticket.”
