Three Frome neighbours strike it lucky in the Postcode Lottery

THREE neighbours from Frome had the surprise of their lives as they scooped £1m between them on the Postcode Lottery.

A local cancer counselling charity also received a surprise pot of £75,000 of funding in the July drawer.

Nicola was one of three neighbours sharing £1 million when BA11 2LN landed Postcode Lottery's weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday, July 4. Each ticket was worth £333,333.

The mum of one was stunned when lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson gave her the go ahead to open a golden envelope on her doorstep.

She said: “It's life changing. We moved in December 2020 into a house that needed a lot of work. We started in 2023 and we thought, naively, it was going to take about a year.

“But the groundwork took months and when we came to actually do the house we ran out of money. We're still in the process of renovating the house bit by bit.

“When people ask 'when are you going to finish it?' I'm like, 'if we don't win the lottery we'll finish in about 20 years' time'.

“At one point I even said to Damien, 'maybe we should go and live in a nice easy three-bed terraced house where we don't have to do any work'.

“He said 'over my dead body, we've put blood, sweat and tears into this house'. This win means we can do everything.”

Just down the road, skilled artist Cameron Scott and wife Daniela also pocketed £333,333 after he started playing the Postcode Lottery two years ago.

Cameron, who specialises in creating intricate wood relief carvings and collages, was working on his latest piece when the lottery knocked on their door.

He said: “When I saw the number three come out of the envelope, I thought maybe £30,000... then another three and another.

“I was thinking of all the little things I could do in the house but it's beyond my comprehension what you can do with this amount of money.

“We'll have to think hard because it's once in a lifetime.”

Originally from the north east of Scotland, Cameron studied at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen before winning a prestigious scholarship that allowed him to work in leading fashion houses in Paris, Florence and Milan.

The former lecturer still loves returning to Italy and spending time in the picturesque town where Daniela's family came from.

The couple will spend some of their winnings on an extended visit to the Piedmont region, not far from the French/Italian border. They could also finally tick off Daniela's lifetime ambition to visit Japan.

Daniela said: “I've always wanted to go to Japan but we couldn't afford it. It was on my bucket list but I thought at my age I might just have to accept I can't go, but now we can – I'm shaking.”

Local charities receiving funding included £75,000 to Frome-based We Hear You (WHY), and OpenStoryTellers, with Fair Frome and Purple Elephant Family Support each receiving £25,000.