A six-figure lottery prize scooped by a mum-of-three was bittersweet, she claims, admitting that the news left her in tears.
Lesley McNally was reeling from a heartbreaking loss when she discovered she'd won £166,666 on the People's Postcode Lottery. The life-changing sum was won with late-husband Garry's tickets, which the loving father left behind.
Builder Garry and Lesley had just moved into their dream home - a new bungalow - after their grown children had flown the nest. But tragedy struck eight months later when husband of 37 years Garry, who had just celebrated his 60th birthday five days earlier, suffered a fatal heart attack in September 2021.
Grieving their devastating loss, the family from Salford, Greater Manchester, discovered he left behind a gift – the winning ticket. Lesley, 54, admits she "wept" after seeing the game reveal her postcode in the draw, landing the first ever Millionaire Street prize in her area.
The mum initially thought she as being canvassed by Labour members when she saw officials from the game turn up in red uniforms. After learning the news, she rang her boss to say she would be late.
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Lesley McNally, 54, scopped the winnings after hubby Garry died suddenly of a heart attack in September 2021 (People's postcode lottery)"I'm happy that I've won, and the family have won," she said. "But it is tinged with sadness, because we had played for a long time and Garry's not here to see it."
Lesley, a car dealership administrator, was left to finish renovations on the bungalow without Garry, the MEN reports, although has been helped by sons Alan, 35, a roofing firm boss, fireman Matthew, 32, and Emmerdale sound technician Steven, 29. "We played Postcode Lottery in the old house and continued to play when we moved here," she said.
"We had a bigger house, then the boys all left, and we downsized. This is where we would have lived forever." She added that Garry had "had the roof off in a day" after moving in, and was planning to get cracking on the renovation. Thanks to the winnings he inadvertently left behind, the work can continue.
"Now I'll just enjoy it and do what we wanted to do," she said. Despite this, Lesley said the winnings left her feeling "sick" and "overwhelmed". "I really don't know how to feel," she said. "This solves a lot of things. Garry passed away very suddenly and there wasn't a plan. This just makes the plan."
Lesley being presented her winnings by Matt Johnson (People's postcode lottery)"There are just so many emotions that went through my head. It's unbelievable and will change the family's lives. It will all be shared. It'll help me and the boys." Incredibly, it's the second time the family has won a Postcode cash prize since Garry's untimely death. Back in July 2022, Garry's tickets scooped £2,000 for his family.
Alan now believes the money was a sign his dad is looking down on them all. "I'm not a spiritual person, but when we were paying for dad's headstone, mum got the £2,000 win – and now this," he said.
Lesley was one of nine people on her street to win a share of £1million, with neighbour Chris Leonard, 64, winning a staggering £249,999, while retired nursery nurse Dolores Santos pocketed £83,333. Chris, a civil servant, said: "We got the biggest shock of our lives when we saw the amount. I didn't sleep the night before because of expectations of what we could win. Elisa promised me a car and maybe Mercedes will phone me now."
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