"This is unbelievable" - lucky woman wins £250k after forgetting to cancel lottery

This is unbelievable: lucky woman wins £250k after forgetting to cancel lottery

A Havant woman experienced “disbelief” after winning the postcode lottery, despite intending to cancel her direct debit beforehand.

Unexpected win

Juliette Spencer-Besant, 47, won £250,000 when her Lockerley Road postcode was drawn as the weekly Millionaire Street prize by the People’s Postcode Lottery. The PO9 2LD postcode includes a nine-storey block of flats in Leigh Park, resulting in three ticket holders each receiving a quarter of a million pounds.

“There was disbelief when I saw the cheque and then a wave of emotion came over me. But I managed to pull it together.” — Juliette Spencer-Besant

How it happened

Juliette explained she had meant to cancel her lottery direct debit a few months earlier but had been distracted by work and personal commitments.

“I was going to cancel a couple of months back, but I’m really bad at personal stuff... I’ve been working for a promotion the last two months and never got round to it.”

She also mentioned managing to cancel some subscriptions but not the Postcode Lottery.

“It’s probably the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll keep playing now.”

Future plans

Juliette plans to invest her winnings wisely but intends to treat herself first.

Author’s summary: A woman from Havant wins £250,000 by chance after forgetting to cancel her lottery subscription, calling it the luckiest moment of her life and planning to invest the prize responsibly.

The News — 2025-11-08