A couple who were determined to change their lives with £60,000 won on a Postcode Lottery both tragically died within months of each other and were never able to spend their winnings.
Jean Davies, 82, signed up to the Postcode Lottery in October 2018 with the help of her grandson Paul, who helped her register online, accidentally pressing the register button twice, meaning she would pay £20 instead of £10 per month.
The grandmother, from Billinge, Merseyside was hoping for a small win when she signed up and told Paul not to worry about the extra payment when he offered to re-register for her, reports the Mirror.
Jean’s neighbours also played the Postcode Lottery but, to her knowledge, none had won. However, Jean was stunned when two months after registering, she received an email informing her she’d won the Christmas draw.
Both Jean and her husband Brian, also 82, were overjoyed. MailOnline reported their daughter Gillian, who was 58 at the time, said: “Mum and Dad had never won anything before so it was a big surprise for them. They had no idea how much they’d won but they were thrilled nonetheless.”
Days later, the couple got a knock at their door from a member of the lottery team, telling her she’d won £60,000 and revealed she would have won £30,000 had she registered just once. It also turned out several of the couple’s neighbours had also won large amounts of cash.
Gillian added: “Mum and Dad lived in an adapted bungalow due to Dad having lots of health issues. When Mum won the money, she planned to get more adaptions in the bungalow such as wooden flooring, a new kitchen and a new bathroom suite. She was excited about sprucing up the house.”
However, heartbreakingly, Jean’s plans never happened. Shortly after their big win, Brian had a fall and began suffering a cognitive decline. Their youngest child, also named Brian, was diagnosed with throat cancer aged 52.
With both Brian’s facing health struggles, the pair’s dreams were put on hold and in 2020, Jean was rushed to hospital with pneumonia. In early 2020, Gillian’s half sister Susan spent time with Jean and Brian, helping organise their wills and applying for power of attorney to take control of their finances.
Later that year, Gillian claimed both she and Brian Jr had been written out of their parents’ wills. Brian Jr sadly died in August 2020. In November, the pair were split up with Brian being moved to Madison Court Care Home in St Helens.
Jean was unable to visit her husband of 65 years due to the pandemic and stringent restrictions, leaving her heartbroken. The pair desperately tried to get Brian home as Jean was worried about him.
MailOnline reported Gillian became concerned her father was being neglected and abused during his time at the care home. Jean went onto Granada TV anonymously in April 2022 to speak out against the alleged abuse.
However, she started to eat less and less due to the stress and utimately died on June 5, 2022. Brian died just a few months later on November 1, 2022.
Gillian has since launched legal action against the home and spent £23,000 in fees. She told MailOnline: “What happened to my dad in that care home is a whole separate story – one I’m still trying to piece together. All I can say now is that no human being should have suffered the way my dad did.”
She believes her parents lives should have changed for the better following their Postcode Lottery win. Gillian continued: “But it didn’t. Everything went downhill from that day. What should have been a joyous time of their lives most definitely wasn’t.”
Harbour Healthcare, which runs Madison Court Care Home has been approached for comment.
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