Padiham farmer scoops huge windfall on Postcode Lottery

A Padiham farmer is celebrating this weekend after winning £30,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery.
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And Bob Atkinson announced the first thing he would be buying with his huge windfall was fertiliser for the 100 acres of land that his livestock reside on.

The cash windfall comes after the Lancashire postcode BB12 8TZ was announced as a winner with the lottery today (Sunday March 20th)

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When People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt revealed the prize Bob (77) was left lost for words and his wife Margaret said: "Oh lovely! Great. Wow, that's a lot."

Bob’s thoughts immediately turned to how he plans to spend his winnings. He said: "We need some fertiliser for spring and that's gone up to nearly £1,000 a tonne. So that's one of the first things we'll need to buy.”

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Bob went on to speak about the concerns around growing enough grass for their livestock this year: “We were thinking we might have to manage without the fertiliser. It would have been a bit of a worry whether we could get enough grass without it.

“But with this bit of help, we’ll probably be able to buy some.”

The moment Bob and Margaret Atkinson discovered their windfall on the Postcode LotteryThe moment Bob and Margaret Atkinson discovered their windfall on the Postcode Lottery
The moment Bob and Margaret Atkinson discovered their windfall on the Postcode Lottery
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The grass grown will serve to support Bob’s livestock. He said: “The area of grass we cut is around 100 acres. We need it to keep these animals going. We have about 50 cattle, 150 sheep at the moment and a number of horses on livery.”

He added: “That’s our life, that’s what we do.”

Judie admitted the choice of fertiliser was ‘a first’ and Margaret added she believed Bob may buy some more sheep too but she was hoping for a meal out from the winnings.

Bob has been in the farming business all his life. He was brought up on the farm next door before moving to his farm with Margaret over fifty years ago.

Joy for Postcode Lottery winners Bob and Margaret AtkinsonJoy for Postcode Lottery winners Bob and Margaret Atkinson
Joy for Postcode Lottery winners Bob and Margaret Atkinson

Judie presented Bob with his cheque and shared her congratulations, she said: “I’m delighted for Bob and Margaret today. It was amazing to get a glimpse of the life they lead on the farm. I hope they enjoy spending the win and treat themselves to something special on top of their fertiliser!”

People’s Postcode Lottery costs £10 a month to play. People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.