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A dog groomer can now pursue her business dream thanks to winning over £80,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Gill Grose, from Market Weighton, has always hoped to open a pooch pampering business named ‘Daft as a Brush’.
Over 900 players in the Market Weighton area scooped a share of the prize money this weekend, which totalled at £3.2m.
Gill, who’s 57, moved house three months ago, but made the decision to keep one of her tickets at her old postcode, which has bagged her a cheque for £87,400.
Now the self-proclaimed, ‘Gill of all trades’ will use some of the cash to set up her dog grooming business from home.
She said, “It’s going to get ‘Daft as a Brush’ going, it just means everything!”
Gill’s close friend and former neighbour, Jean Phillips, took home the biggest share of the prize pot thanks to playing with three tickets, a whopping £252,630.
Both Gill and Jean were among the sixteen winners to collect the top prizes.
The postcode YO43 3NR was announced as the winner of the Postcode Millions prize on Saturday 28 March, during the big reveal in Market Weighton. Each ticket on Walkington Drive was worth a hefty £84,210.
A further 894 cheques were won in the postcode sector of YO43 3, ranging from £1,595 to £4,785, depending on the number of tickets played with.
It means Gill, who plays with two tickets at her new address in YO43 3, bagged an additional £3,190.
Gill said, “I’ve started my business properly in January and there’s a company down in Kent somewhere that does groom pods and it’s like a Portacabin, but it’s got everything in it fully equipped, wash down and everything and they just crane it into your drive.
“This will help me set it up from home now because I’m temporarily in kennels working there.”
Triple ticket winner Jean was thrilled to share the amazing moment with her friend, as she opened three envelopes to reveal her stunning £252,630 win.
Jean said, “It is just wonderful to share this moment with Gill. She’s great and I’m delighted for her too.”
Describing the moment Jean opened the envelopes to reveal her spectacular win, she beamed: “I am staggered, it’s life changing and quite difficult to process.
“I didn’t have a figure in my head and thought that anything would be nice.
“I did think something like £25,000 would have been lovely because that would have covered everything, but this is absolutely marvellous and it will take a bit of time to process.”
Jean dedicated her win to her late Mum Lillian, who reached 100 before sadly passing away in December 2016.
In terms of treats, Jean said, ““I’m not a holiday person. I play bowls and go away for a week to the national finals in Lincoln and Skegness.”
Gill and Jean became firm friends after Gill moved onto Jean’s street eight years ago but it was Jean’s border collie, Moss, who really helped the pair to bond.
Gill said, “It was when Jean got Moss that I really got to know her. As soon as she walked up the road with a little fluff ball, that was me gone.”
She even credits the loveable pooch for helping her retrain and pursue her passion for dogs, after leaving her previous job as an investment finance manager in June 2023.
Gill completed canine behaviour and dog training, using Moss as her assessment dog, while also undertaking dog grooming courses.
Other big winners on the day had their £84,210 cheques revealed together in the street, with the ecstatic neighbours celebrating side by side.
It was a double celebration for engaged couple Laura Horsley and Mark Cox who each won £84,210.
The couple, who’ve been together for seven years, are now looking ahead to their big day and also have some home improvements in mind.
It was a stroke of luck which led to mum-of-two Marie Edmonds landing her £84,210 win.
Book-keeper Marie, 51 and husband Michael, 54, only moved into the street at the end of last year and hadn’t got round to updating their address with the Postcode Lottery.
It was only when she won £12 with her old address in February and that sparked her into action.
Marie said, “I got an email in February to say I had won £12 and that gave me that reminder that I needed to change my postcode so I could play with this address, because I hadn’t got round to doing that.
“So, I signed up with the new address only in February and literally the next month I won this. Someone is looking down on me and looking after me.”
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes, including organisations close to the winners.
To find out more on the People’s Postcode Lottery, click here.
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