People’s Postcode Lottery winner plans first holiday after huge win

A 65-year-old man plans to buy his first passport after winning £800,000 in a postcode lottery.

Tony Labruna, from Bedminster, Bristol – who said he had “never won anything in his life” – described the win as “amazing”.

The retired bus mechanic, who said he had only ever been on holiday to Weymouth, plans to celebrate by achieving his lifelong dream of traveling abroad.

Although he was the biggest winner, a number of his neighbors in BS3 5BA also received huge sums as part of a £3.2million win.

“It will be my first time traveling so I want to see what it’s like and take it easy. If I go to Spain or France and see the different cultures for two weeks, I will be happy,” said Mr. Labruna.

After a decade of ill health following a heart attack, Mr Labruna said he was “lucky to be alive” and didn’t know “whether to cry, scream or jump up and down down”.

“I’m not used to a lot of money. I was used to taking my salary and that too just to live,” he added.

“But this, it’s just life-changing.”

Each Postal Lottery ticket was worth £400,000, but Mr Labruna doubled his winnings by playing two tickets.

Neighbor Celestina Joseph, 62, was one of the lucky winners who took home £400,000 and plans to use her winnings to buy a new home to share with her younger sister Catherine , aged 60, and with their grandson Jack, aged 27.

Jack’s mother Lorna died two years ago from an infection after heart surgery, leading to a “tough few years”, Ms Joseph said.

Catherine added: “We were the three musketeers. Then Jack came and we were the four musketeers. He would have loved all of that.”

The three are also planning a dream trip to the Maldives, flying business class, as a “once in a lifetime experience”.

A further 480 people who played the winning postcode area of ​​BS3 5 received checks ranging from £2,973 to £11,892, depending on how many tickets they played.

Mother-of-four Karen McGlone, 52, who also won £400,000, said the money meant she could now buy her dream home in Devon.

Civil servant Karen said: “I’ve been showing it – 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 will be a holiday home to begin with, but when we retire we will move in for good. It’s much slower, quieter and warmer.”

But for now, Ms. McGlone has her sights set on something a little closer to home.

“We have a bottle of Moët in the fridge,” she said.

“So it’s champagne first and then we can start planning the next phase of our lives.”