A LUCKY man scooped an incredible £333k prize after his mother urged him not to quit the lottery when he moved house – and back in with her.
Lee Plant, 40, banked the bumper jackpot on Saturday, 4 April – just two weeks after he considered ditching his Postcode Lottery subscription.
And the warehouse worker credits his mum Wendy, who told him to keep his membership running at his former address – despite moving back in with her.
Lee, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said: “If it wasn’t for my mum, I wouldn’t be here now – simple as that.
“I nearly cancelled my ticket and then mum told me not to.”
Wendy, 59, added: “I told him to keep it. I was already playing with my postcode, and I said, ‘just leave yours going’, and look what’s happened!
“It’s like a dream… it really is. I’m glad I told him to keep playing.”
Lee is one of three neighbours in the Meir area of Stoke sharing £1million when ST3 6AL landed the Millionaire Street prize.
He had planned to cancel his subscription when he moved out of his shared accommodation on Weston Road in Meir around 12 months ago and returned to his mum’s in the Northwood area.
Lee explained: “I used to live on Weston Road in shared accommodation, then I moved back in with my mum about a year ago.”
However, he kept playing using his old postcode – a decision that proved crucial.
Lee said: “I carried on playing using that postcode. A lot of people don’t realise you can do that.
“I read it on the website – you can play with your old postcode, or any postcode.”
The scale of the win – which is tax free – has not fully sunk in yet.
Lee, shaking his head, said: “That’s a life-changing amount of money.
“I want to get myself a property… treat me mum, treat me friends… maybe go on holiday.”
Wendy, who works as a learning support worker for adults with disabilities, is equally overwhelmed.
She said: “I’m paid minimum wage. I might be able to go down to part-time hours now.”
The money is set to land in Lee’s bank account this week – a moment he admits will be surreal.
He said: “You never think you’ll see anything like that in your lifetime. I’d have been happy with £3,000.”
Wendy laughed: “The most I’ve ever had is £45,000 — and that was a divorce settlement! So, this… this is just something else.”
When Lee found out about the win, the first thing he did was call his mum.
Wendy said: “Lee called me and said, ‘I’ve had a phone call from Postcode Lottery, I’ve won something. They are coming tomorrow’, and I put the phone down on him.
“I then rang him back and said, ‘tell me again what you just told me… this is a prank isn’t it?’”
And giving the news came on April 2, Lee felt he had reason to be skeptical.
Lee said: “I did say on the phone, ‘What date is it today?’ It was just a day after April Fools!”
Lee and Wendy plan to toast the win by singing their hearts out at their favourite pub.
Wendy said: “Well, we are going to karaoke tonight at The White Horse in Tunstall.
“We’ll be both going up to sing ‘The Winner Takes It All.’”
Lee added: “After a few drinks.”
The pair are big music fans – with Wendy out singing most nights of the week.
She said: “I love singing ‘I Am What I Am’ by Gloria Gaynor, and ‘You’re my World’ by Cilla Black.
Lee revealed he has his own favourites too, adding: “I like a bit of ‘My Way’ at the moment.”
Wendy added: “He used to do ‘Believe’ by Cher as well.”
Breaking into song, she blasted out: “Do you believe in life after the Postcode Lottery.”
They plan to share the win with loved ones.
Gran-of-four Wendy added: “We’ll treat the family. We’ve got a big one!
“It’s going to make such a difference. We could actually go on a family holiday.”
They are already planning a trip to Tenerife and considering buying a better home.
Wendy told Lee: “You can buy your own place now.
“Anything with a little bungalow on the side for me – I’d be quite happy.”
Van driver Julian Malbon, 61, was among the other winners – also scooping a whopping £333,333.
The grandad-of-two said: “It’s a mind-blowing amount of money… I don’t even know where to start. I can hardly stand up…my legs are like jelly.”
Wife Josie, 64, was equally stunned, saying: “I just can’t believe it… this kind of thing doesn’t happen to people like us.”
The couple’s life-changing win comes after a difficult period marked by bereavements and a string of costly home repairs.
Julian said: “We’ve had the chimney stack go after strong winds, which damaged the roof – and you think, how are we going to pay for it? Now it’s irrelevant.”
He was in disbelief as the prize cheque was unveiled.
“It’s very odd… you think it’s going to stop after a few numbers, but more numbers kept appearing”, he added.
But he has no plans to quit working.
“My job is good… I don’t want to back away”, he said.
The van driver and warehouse worker also said he could not wait to tell his colleagues about his good news.
Now the couple are planning a Meditearranean cruise – their dream holiday.
Julian said: “We’ve got a holiday coming up to Greece and we’ve booked self-catering. We’re always very careful with our spending but now we can go full hog – with upgrades and really enjoy it.
“I think a cruise around the Med is definitely in the pipeline as well, because we’ve never been on one.”
They also plan to help out their three children and two young grandchildren.
Julian said: “The main thing is the kids. We’ll give each of our kids’ money and that money will seep through to our five and eight-year-old grandchildren as well.”
Celebrations will include a trip to The Red House pub in Cavershall and a round of golf. But Julian admitted it might be hard to focus.
He added: “You always see it happen to other people – not to us.”
Stoke charity Gingerbread Family Support, has been awarded £75,000 thanks to Postcode Lottery players.
Jess Druce, Fundraising and Marketing Manager, said: “We are deeply grateful to Postcode Lottery players for their generosity.
“Their contributions are helping to change lives here in Stoke-on-Trent. The money donated truly shows that local pounds really do support local people.”
