His dream is to go to Everton’s new stadium
Colin and his lovely wife Janet nearly missed out on the Postcode Millions prize(Image: People’s Postcode Lottery)
An Everton fan almost missed out on winning £142,000. Colin Homer, 69, and his wife Janet, 67, put their home on the market two weeks ago – and now their postcode has landed a share of a £1m prize.
Their luck is down to them not having a quick sale on the house, says Colin, or they couldn’t missed out on the fortune completely. Colin, who lives in Hertfordshire, said: “We’d only put the house on the market two weeks ago. If it had sold quickly, we could’ve easily stopped the ticket – but fate had other ideas.”
Colin was among seven neighbours in Waltham Cross sharing the lottery’s weekly £1m Millionaire Street prize when EN8 7QY was announced as the winner on Saturday, October 11. Each winning ticket was worth £142,857.
The couple, who have two children, now plan to use the winnings to help fund their upcoming move and finally relax after a “tough few years”.
Janet said: “We’ve had some rough times. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in November 2021. And then the following year our son was also diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a rare blood cancer – and he went through two years of chemo. Thankfully, he’s in remission now.”
Colin added: “Then Janet’s mum had to go into hospital for two emergency operations, and then she came out and broke her hip. And my brother is having kidney dialysis.”
Janet added: “But just in last few months, my mum is now more settled in a care home, our son is in remission. So, now is this time we thought about moving and putting her house on the market and now this.”
They’re also eyeing up a well earned holiday to Almería, Spain, and perhaps a dream trip to watch Everton, who Colin has been a lifelong fan of.
Colin said: “I used to have a season ticket, and I travelled up and down to Goodison Park almost every week. I haven’t been to the new stadium yet, so I’ll definitely do that now.
Janet added: “When our son wasn’t well, when he got his cancer, his sister paid for a brick with his name on it at Goodison Park. So, we really need to go and see that.”
It was Colin’s father-in-law Don Cole, who died in 2021 aged 85, who had first convinced Colin to sign up for the lottery after scooping £1,000 himself.
Janet said: “It was my dad who got Colin into it. About five years ago, my dad got a golden envelope through the door with a £1,000 cheque inside. He was so excited. He then persuaded Colin to play. He’s looking down on us now. I’m sure he is.”
Moments after winning, Colin lifted his £142,857 cheque above his head and “looked up to the skies” in honour of his late father-in-law.
They said they were “stunned” when their prize was revealed. Janet, a retired admin worker, said: “It takes a while to sink in, doesn’t it? We just stood there in shock.”
