A MUM has opened up about how she won part of £3.2million in the People’s Postcode lottery months after her life was destroyed.
Tracy Braithwaite, 40, and her children’s plans to head on their dream holiday had been ruined when a bathroom nightmare saw their Yorkshire house flood.
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She heartbreakingly was forced to cancel the getaway and use the hard-earned money to repair her home.
Then, four days ago, she found out she’d scooped a sweet £123,076.
Now the mum-of-two is replanning the Disney-themed Florida trip – and looking to move back into her beloved house sooner.
Tracy, an urgent care nurse practitioner, said: “We had to vacate our house literally the day after my 40th birthday when the bathroom flooded.
“To win £20,000 would have been life-changing for us but to win that amount is just completely mind-blowing. It’s bonkers.”
The mum said ceilings had collapsed in her daughter’s room, as well as her’s and the bathroom, seven months ago.
Tracy said: “It wrecked all of downstairs. We lost it all.
“And then the money I’d saved which should have been going towards Disneyland Florida for my birthday went on the house.”
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She and her youngsters had been forced to move in with family while the house was being repaired.
The 40-year-old continued: “I just didn’t think it was my year because everything was going horribly wrong, but this [win] has just completely turned it all around.
“We’ll be able to move back home sooner than we thought.”
Tracy said she’ll even have enough money to splurge on a new car, and hopefully take youngsters Dominic, seven, and Lydia, 13, on another trip.
The mum said: “I’d love to take the kids to Lapland, it’s always been on my bucket list, and I could even get a new car.”
Young Dominic then jokingly asked for a Lamborghini.
And while he may not get that, Tracy promised to splash some money on a new drum kit – and an electric guitar for Metallica fan Lydia.
She added: “All you want as a mum is to give your kids a better life and this [win] has changed our lives in an instant.”
Tracy was one of ten neighbours to bag the biggest prizes after their Yorkshire postcode – YO25 6XX – was announced as the lottery’s full winning postcode in their monthly People’s Postcode Lottery.
And another 923 lottery players in the postcode sector, YO25 6, celebrated cash wins ranging from £1,531 to £6,124, depending on how many tickets they play with.
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
