A war veteran is looking forward to treating his family after becoming the oldest ever winner of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Bernard Botting, from Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, has won a massive £685,000 sum at the age of 98 – making him the oldest ever winner of the big prize.
The grandfather, who joined the Royal Marines aged 17 in the middle of WW2, was awarded three cheques for £228,571 after purchasing three tickets – a grand total of £685,713.
He celebrated his win with his elated family – and the three generations posed proudly with Bernard as he was presented with his winnings by Jeff Brazier.
‘I never thought I’d win, I just hoped,’ the pensioner said. ‘The family are all going to get something.’
Bernard Botting, from Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, won a massive £685,000 sum in the People’s Postcode Lottery at the old age of 98 – which saw him become the oldest winner of the big prize
War hero Bernard celebrated his win with his elated family – and the three generations stood around him tightly for a photograph, while the widower was presented with his win
Bernard first started playing the People’s Postcode Lottery with his late wife Doris, who died at the age of 93 in 2017.
He vowed to her that if he ever won, he’d share the grand total with his lucky family, but told BBC News: ‘My daughter will get the most because she has been fantastic. She took over from my wife when she died and looked after me every day’.
Bernard isn’t the only lucky winner – four of his neighbours living in his exact postcode also triumphed.
And the rest of the £3.2 million prize pot was shared with 1,053 people in the wider postcode area.
Dinner lady Shirley Baynham was also beaming with joy as her cheque was revealed – and attributed her win to her late husband Les, who tragically died of cancer in 2019.
Shirley, 71, told Somerset Live that she’s carried on doing the Postcode Lottery since the death of her husband four years ago.
‘I wanted to keep it going, so I changed it over to my name. It seems as if he’s looking down on me and looking after his sons and grandchildren,’ she said.
Dinner lady Shirley Baynham was also beaming with joy as her cheque was revealed – and attributed her win to her late husband Les, who tragically died of cancer in 2019
Shirley in shock as she posed with son Mark, a warehouse supervisor who said: ‘This is a bit of good news for a change’
The generous winner still serves grub at her local primary school – and plans to treat her colleagues, as well as her family with the newfound income.
Her son Mark, a warehouse supervisor, said: ‘This is a bit of good news for a change’.
Neighbour Peter Wrigglesworth also bagged a win, and the retired lorry driver, 81, and father-of-two and said he’d treat wife Joyce to some of the fortune.
The Wrigglesworths can now visit their grandson Gavin and his wife Myra – who have a one-year-old child in Ohio – as well as Peter’s brother, 90-year-old Donald who lives in New Zealand.