UK man forgets to cancel lottery—and wins £125,000 by mistake
A simple oversight has turned into a windfall for one UK man. James Adams, who planned to cancel his Postcode Lottery subscription to save for his wedding, forgot to do so—and ended up winning £125,000. Meanwhile, another lottery player in the country recently claimed a £35 million EuroMillions jackpot.
Adams, from Kingswood in Bristol, had intended to stop his monthly £10 payments before his wedding to Rouhanna Coulthard. But his forgetfulness paid off when his postcode was drawn as one of eight winning entries in the People's Postcode Lottery. The couple shared a £1 million prize with seven neighbours, netting them £125,000 each.
This isn't the first time a last-minute lottery decision has led to big wins. Last year, an English woman scooped £253,500 from the same lottery, despite her husband's doubts about playing. The trend of shared postcode victories has continued, with two more areas—Glasgow's G13 in October 2023 and London's SW11 in March 2024—each producing million-pound wins split among local ticket holders. Elsewhere, a separate EuroMillions player secured a £14.29 million prize, while another recent draw created a new UK multimillionaire with a £35 million top-tier win.
Adams' accidental win will now help fund his wedding and future plans. The Postcode Lottery's shared prizes have repeatedly turned small monthly stakes into life-changing sums for communities across Britain. Meanwhile, EuroMillions continues to produce some of the country's biggest individual jackpots.
