'I won £400,000 in Postcode Lottery - now I want to move to this seaside town'

Karen McGowan, a lucky mum from Bristol, won £400,000 in the Postcode Lottery, finally allowing her to buy her dream home in one of two pretty seaside towns.

Karen McGlone

Karen McGlone won £400,000 in the Postcode Lottery. (Image: People's Postcode Lottery)

A woman from Bristol won £400,000 in the Postcode Lottery, finally allowing her to buy her dream home in the Devon countryside after "manifesting" it for over a decade.

Karen McGlone from Bristol dreamed of this moment for years, and after entering the BS35 sector of the Postcode Lottey, she can now make her dreams a reality. 

She received her portion of the £3.2 million jackpot dished out to the 480 people who entered from the winning postcode, but it adamant it won't change her. 

She said: "We've got a bottle of Moët in the fridge. So, it's Champagne first and then we can start planning the next phase of our lives. It's a total life-changing event but it won't change me, I'll still be me."

Karen, a mum-of-four and civil servant, said she's been "manifesting" buying a house in either Paignton or Brixham for over 10 years, but her husband Robert hasn't always been on board.

Karen with other winner Celestina.

Karen has been dreaming of owning a house in Devon for over 10 years. (Image: People's Postcode Lottery)

She said: "I've been manifesting this - every time we go on holiday I keep saying, 'When we get our house in Devon, when we win the lottery, we'll get this.'

"It'll be a holiday home to start with but when we retire, we'll move permanently. It's just so much slower, and quieter, and warmer."

Another winner was Tony, a retired bus mechanic, who won an incredible £800,000 by playing with two tickets. He said he's going to use the money to buy a passport and go on his first ever holiday aborad, as he's only ever been to Weymouth.

He said: "First of all I'm going to get my passport. It'll be my first time travelling so I want to see how it is and take it easy.

"If I go to Spain or France and see the different cultures for two weeks, I'll be happy. I might want to go by boat and cruise over, so I can get my head around everything."

Postcode Lottery winner Tony

Tony has never been on holiday outside of Weymouth. (Image: People's Postcode Lottery)

Tony, who said he hasn't "every won anything", described the jackpot as "mind-blowing" after a decade of health issues following a heart attack. 

He said he's grateful to be able to enjoy his winnings and make the most of them as he's never had more than just enough money to live on.

He said: "I had a heart attack ten years ago and I've got five stents in my heart. I'm lucky to be alive. It's been a lot of trouble - this is just what I need. I haven't been used to a lot of money. I've been used to getting my wages and that's just for living on.

"But this, it's just life-changing. I don't know whether to cry, scream or jump up and down. I don't know what to do. I've never had this much money in my bank."


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