A Street man has scooped £500,000 on the Postcode Lottery — despite having completely forgotten he was still playing. Rick Robinson, 58, initially thought the call telling him he had won was a joke before discovering that each of his two tickets was worth £250,000.

He was one of eight winners in Street who shared a combined £2.25 million in prizes, with the windfall arriving just weeks after Rick and his wife Sharon saw their 170-year-old terraced home hit by severe flooding.

"I thought it was a joke initially when I got a call from someone claiming to be from Postcode Lottery and they said, 'You've won a prize'. I thought, 'No, I haven't'," Rick said.

He had "totally forgot" he was still entering the lottery and only became convinced the call might be genuine when he checked his bank account and found the direct debit.

The size of the eventual prize came as rather more of a shock.

"I can't even comprehend how much that is," he said. "It's insane, an absolutely incredible amount of money."

Rick joined the Army in 1985 and served with 19th Regiment Royal Artillery, spending much of his military career based in Dortmund, Germany.

Now, some of the winnings are already earmarked for considerably more domestic pursuits. Rick plans to pay off the mortgage before he and Sharon turn their attention to restoring "Myrtle the Turtle", their 1980s caravan.

The money has arrived at a particularly welcome moment for the couple after flooding caused major problems at their home only weeks earlier. They have spent around six weeks trying to dry the property out, with dehumidifiers and fans running continuously and significant repair costs looming.

A £500,000 lottery win does at least make the plumber's bill look slightly less intimidating.

Rick was not the only neighbour celebrating. Further along the street, Tel Hayes, 77, and his wife Morveen, 81, won £250,000.

The couple recently marked their 30th wedding anniversary and are due to head on a cruise to the Norwegian fjords in October.

Tel said one of the biggest changes would simply be not having to worry so much about everyday expenses.

"It's just the thought of not having to consider about money again, you know, things like the plumber who's coming over tomorrow," he said.

"But after the plumber's been, we'll go out and buy Mo a few dresses for the cruise."

Between them, the eight winning neighbours received £2.25 million.

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