A grieving widow has landed a £166,666 jackpot with her late husband’s lottery tickets.
Lesley McNally, 54, lost her husband Garry in September 2021, just five days after he turned 60 - and says winning the prize is bittersweet.
Following his tragic death, mum-of-three Lesley, from Greater Manchester, continued to play the People’s Postcode Lottery and has now won the whopping cash amount as part of the first ever Millionaire Street prize.
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Speaking after the win, she said: “I’m happy that I’ve won, and the family have won. But it is tinged with sadness, because we had played for a long time and Garry’s not here to see it.
“This is a life-changing amount of money for me and Gaz.”
Lesley had been in a relationship with Garry since she was 16 and spent 37-years happily married before his death.
The pair shared three sons - Alan, 35, Matthew, 32, and Steven, 29.
Lesley continued: “We played Postcode Lottery in the old house and continued to play when we moved here. We had a bigger house, then the boys all left, and we downsized.
“This is where we would have lived forever. But eight months later Gaz had a sudden heart attack five days after his 60th birthday.
“If he was here, he would have started building. After we moved in, he had the roof off in a day.
“Now I’ll just enjoy it and do what we wanted to do.”
Lesley said that the cash will make life a bit easier for the family, even though it is tinged with sadness.
She added: “I feel sick, I’m just overwhelmed… I really don’t know how to feel.
“This solves a lot of things. Garry passed away very suddenly and there wasn’t a plan. This just makes the plan.
“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.”
This isn’t the first time the family have won since Garry’s passing - they won £2,000 in July last year.
Son Alan thinks the wins are a sign Garry is still looking after his family.
He said: “I’m not a spiritual person, but when we were paying for dad’s headstone, mum got the £2,000 win – and now this.”
His brother Steven added: “This is amazing, it’s massive for my mum. It has been difficult times.”
Claire Reid