A RETIRED NHS worker who scooped twelve lottery prizes totalling £144,000 faced losing her home before bagging the life-changing cash.
Meg Carr, 69 and husband Andy, 53, nabbed £12,000-a-month for a year after LS25 6HW was announced as this month’s winner of Postcode Lottery’s“An Unforgettable Year”.
But the former healthcare worker, from Leeds, admitted she was nearly turfed out of her now-converted farmhouse in 1992.
The family had lived in the secluded home until 1992 when they were forced out after British Coal successfully got a compulsory purchase order.
The property was boarded up and left derelict for over two decades years before Meg and Andy managed to buy it back – and have been transforming it ever since.
“It was heart-breaking to leave. We had a dream for this place, and they didn’t allow it,” she said.
“But we never stopped asking to buy it back. And when they said we could have it, it was amazing.
“The windows were all bricked up and some kids had set fire to part of it.
“But, apart from that, it was exactly as we’d left it with the wallpaper still on the walls the kids’ stickers still on the bedroom doors. It was very strange.”
An excited Meg, who now works as a dog courier, also revealed her incredible plans to spend the winning amount.
She said she wants to treat herself and hubby Andy, 53, to a “bucket list” tour of Japan.
“We were already planning to take a trip to Japan this year,” she said.
“It’s been on the bucket list for quite some time. It’s a place we’ve both wanted to see.”
“We’ll fly business class and go straight to Japan. We want to do the bullet train, Mount Fuji, see the monkeys and the cherry blossom trees.”
“That’s the first £12,000 gone!”
But Meg and a plus one will also be able to choose from a series of unforgettable experiences – in Britain or abroad.
They include a seven-day safari to Kenya with Fauna & Flora International, a Brazilian rainforest visit with WWF and excursions to a national park in Mozambique or South Africa with Peace Parks Foundation.
Closer to home, she could opt for a five-star trip to Edinburgh with a VIP experience at the zoo courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
It was heart-breaking to leave. We had a dream for this place, and they didn’t allow it
Meg Carr
Meg also said she will donate money to some of her favourite charities including Cherished Gowns UK, who make burial gowns for babies.
“Some of this money will go to charities that I support. I used to knit clothes for African charities.
“Now I’ve found a charity which converts bridal dresses into burial gowns for stillborn babies.”
Meg’s husband Andy, who is an HGV driver, said he wants a new digger to help transform the land they have around their converted farmhouse, including the rutted track leading to their home.
He said: “I want an excavator to do some work around here now.
“The track at the moment is dreadful. I’d like a Volvo or a CAT with a loading shovel.
“When we bought this place I had a 20-tonne excavator.”
Meg added: “Working the land is very time-consuming if you have to do it by hand.”
How does the People's Postcode Lottery work?
ACCORDING to the official website, players sign up with their postcode and pay £12 per month.
They are automatically entered into every draw and prizes are announced every day of the month.
Tickets play for prizes every day of the week – from Monday to Sunday, a ticket could win £1,000 each day in the Daily Prize.
Tickets could also win a jackpot of £30,000 in Saturday and Sunday’s Street Prize draws.
People’s Postcode Lottery also offer a £3 Million Postcode Millions draw each month – and your ticket plays for a share of a £3 Million cash prize fund.
Winners are notified by email, SMS message, mail or phone call depending on the prize they win.
Jackpot winners are visited by the lottery team in person.