Wigan dad shielding for almost a year celebrates scooping £30,000 on lottery

A dad who has been shielding from coronavirus has described feeling excited for the first time in almost a year after winning £30,000.
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Andrew Calderbank landed the cash today when his postcode in Orrell - WN5 8UW - was announced as a winner with People’s Postcode Lottery. A second winner also won £30,000.

The 50-year-old, who works as a safety advisor for Heinz, was joined by his wife Jennifer when he received a video call from lottery ambassador Jeff Brazier letting him know he had won.

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Andrew said: “Fantastic, that’s brilliant! You never think you’ll win that amount of money - other people usually win that, not us!”

Andrew and JenniferAndrew and Jennifer
Andrew and Jennifer

Andrew, who has muscular dystrophy and diabetes, said the win had lifted his spirits.

He said: “I’ve been shielding so it’s been tough, really tough. Luckily, I can work from home but it’s a lot of staring at four walls which isn’t very good. The highlight of my day is the postman coming.

“You feel down when you’re shielding but this has really lifted me. I feel excited and I’ve not felt excited since before March last year.

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“I got my vaccine two weeks ago which was like a late Christmas present and getting this now is like another!”

Andrew and Jennifer would love to go on a romantic trip to where they were married with the windfall.

Andrew said: “We got married in Australia 27 years ago so we’d like to go back when we’re able to. After this last year and all the shielding, it would be great to get some sun and a bit of happiness back in our lives.

“We’ll treat our son Brett as well. He’s 24 and we’ve really been missing him. Hopefully at some point we can get together with our friends and have a big party and just enjoy it really.”

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Jennifer, who works at a Sainsbury’s distribution centre, added: “We’re just shell-shocked. I think we might have to have a glass of champagne later to celebrate!”

Andrew signed up to play after a friend at work won in December 2018.

He said: “Trevor won £60,000 because he had two tickets so I thought, 'I’ll have a bit of that', and it’s also good knowing so much goes towards charities, especially at the moment when they’re not able to raise as much themselves.”

The second winner chose to remain anonymous but their prize will be paid into their bank account.

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People's Postcode Lottery ambassador Jeff Brazier said: “I’m delighted for Andrew – it was such a pleasure to give him and Jennifer some good news. Hopefully it’s not too long until he can see his family and friends again and jet off on that trip to Australia.

“I’m sure our other lucky winner in Orrell will be just as pleased as he is – congratulations!”

Every day throughout February, one postcode will be announced as a £30,000 prize winner. All the players in the postcode will win £30,000 for every ticket they hold.

People’s Postcode Lottery costs £10 a month to play and there are guaranteed winners every day. People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.

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A minimum of 32 per cent of ticket sales goes directly to charities and players have helped to raise more than £600m to date for thousands of good causes across Britain and internationally.

This draw was promoted on behalf of Postcode Planet Trust which supports organisations including Marine Conservation Society, The Wildlife Trusts and The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland with regular grant funding.

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