Wedding bells on Northampton street as three couples are among eight to win share of £1 million on Postcode Lottery

Neighbours in Obelisk Rise won a share of the lottery’s Millionaire Street prize – announced on Saturday (May 17) - with each ticket worth £125,000.

Two couples say they will now be able to plan their dream weddings and another couple says they will finally throw a wedding reception after they got married during the pandemic.

Professional referee Nathan Brown and fiancée Jade Dunkley shed a few tears when their cheque was revealed.

35-year-old Nathan said: “This will change our lives forever. We both work really hard. I work three jobs, so this is just an incredible amount of money.”

Nathan, who proposed to childhood sweetheart Jade, also 35, during an Eminem concert at Wembley Stadium in July 2014, said: “There are so many things we’ll be able to do. We’ll finally get married for one.”

The dad-of-two, who works for Nationwide Building Society as a change consultant and is also a part-time Deliveroo rider, said: “I’ll give up my Deliveroo job, so I can spend more time with the kids. It’s going to be massive for our whole family.”

Building society worker Jade, 35, told how their love story stretches all the way back to primary school.

She said: “We went to primary school together and then we met again when we were 15, and we’ve been together 18 years and two children later.

“We did the house and children first and put the wedding on the back burner. It’s maybe about time we got round to a wedding.

“We’ve always said we’d love to get married abroad. We went to Jamaica with our friends years ago and when we were there, we both said we’d love to get married in Jamaica.”

Before any big day takes place, the couple want to make some home improvements and get a more reliable car.

Nathan said: “I think we’ll buy a new car because our current one keeps breaking down.”

Jade added: “I was thinking we can maybe replace the windows. I’m the boring one, I’m like ‘I need a new window, a new bathroom’.”

Stunned Nathan quipped: “I need a beer.”

He added: “There are things the kids have asked for that we can’t always provide for them. We might take them straight to the toy shop.”

Another cheering couple was Jamie Holden, 33, and his fiancée Laura Fullthorpe, 34.

Motorbike mechanic Jamie said: “I can’t even remember pulling out the cheque, it’s a blur. I’ve never seen that sort of money ever.”

Laura, a special needs support worker at a local college, added: “We’re not sure if we’re dreaming?”

The pair, who share four children, have been together for seven years, engaged for four and will also put some of their winnings towards a wedding – but only after buying a bigger house so they can all live together.

Jamie said: “We’ve been engaged now for four years but we’ve not planned any weddings because we’ve been trying to get money together for a bigger house, so we can actually live together before we get married.

“We can now buy a bigger house to be a proper family in. And then we’ll have a proper wedding.”

Jamie also told how he’ll splash some cash on a once-in-a-lifetime experience during their upcoming family holiday.

He said: “We’ve got a holiday to Turkey booked. And when we’re there we’ll all swim with dolphins!

“The hotel is literally 10 minutes away from a dolphin sanctuary, and we looked into it and it was a lot of money for us all to be able to go and do it. Now it’s a definite!”

And Laura said they’ll make their 12-year-old twins, seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son’s birthdays extra special this year.

She said: “All the kid’s birthdays are inside four weeks, so we’ll be able to give them the best birthdays ever, the best month ever.”

Mum-of-three Ashli Wise also held a winning ticket and told how she’ll finally have the wedding celebration and honeymoon that her and husband Cory Wise, 34, missed out on because of Covid.

Ashli, 38, said: “I’m so excited and just over the moon. We can have a real wedding reception, and we can take our children away on our honeymoon.”

The couple, who wed in their back garden during the Covid pandemic in 2020, said they’ll now have a full celebration.

Ashli said: “We got married on the first day that we were allowed to have 15 guests for a wedding, and we literally just had a tea party in our garden. And everyone had face masks on.

“Now we can actually have a wedding reception which will be lovely, and without having to save for years.”

Former personal trainer Ashli now has her sights set on a family-friendly honeymoon to Cyprus.

She said: “I absolutely love Cyprus. Somewhere where the children can really make the most of the swimming pools and the beach.”

Cory added: “We’re a really easy-going family, so all-inclusive would be great.”

Since Ashli and Cory wed, their family has grown, and they plan to spend the biggest chunk of their bumper winnings on a new house for their three young girls.

She said: “We definitely need to move to a bigger house, and the fact that we can now use this money for a bigger property for our children to grow up in is fantastic.”

Cory added: “We’ve outgrown this house, and a new house will be life-changing for us.” 

The other winners included David Hollamby, 59, Stephanie Bailie, 48, and Carole Martin, 80.

Their wins also mean a string of local charities will get vital funding boosts. And one organisation, Northampton Hope Centre, a charity tackling homelessness, hardship and hunger in the community, has received £100,000.

Damon Boughen, grants and trusts manager for Northampton Hope Centre, said: “This funding allows us to keep vital services running at a time when more people than ever need our help. This support will help us meet urgent needs while offering lasting routes out of poverty. 

“We’re so grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for standing with us and making this work possible.”

Other local charities who have benefitted from this week’s Millionaire Street prize include. Northamptonshire Association for the Blind (£50,000) and Springs Family Centre (£25,000).