Glasgow mum wins £411,000 after getting 'strong feeling' to play Postcode Lottery

A Glasgow mum got a ‘strong feeling’ that she should join the People’s Postcode Lottery – and won more than £411,000 two months later.

Leyla Eaton, 33, formerly of Knightswood, said she signed up hours after ‘a message’ randomly came into her head while she was sitting at home in February. 

Now Leyla, who runs a courier firm with husband Jamie, 34, said the family will celebrate with holidays to New York and Turkey. 

Leyla – who had made just three £12 monthly payments before her win – said: “I got a message a couple of months ago to join. It was a strong message I received…a strong feeling.  

“I wasn’t following social media, and I don’t watch normal TV. I was sitting here one day and it just came into my head, like a voice, telling me to join the Postcode Lottery.  

“I questioned myself and thought I was feeling it for a reason and that night I joined. 

“Now this just two months later!” 

She added: “I do get feelings and I latch onto them through instinct. Since last September I’ve been journaling and getting more in touch with myself. I feel pretty in tune. This all feels very surreal, but I’m so thankful.” 

Leyla and next door neighbour Henry Aimiuwu, 56, a chemistry teacher, each bagged the windfall in Tilbury, Essex, after RM18 7AW won Postcode Lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street £1m prize on Saturday, April 6. Every ticket was worth £411,238.  

The rest of the prize pot was shared among 204 players in the wider RM18 7 postcode area, with each ticket worth £727. 

Leyla, who moved down south when she was 13, started shaking when Postcode Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson presented her prize – then revealed it has been a tough year for the family. 

She said: “Oh my God! Are you serious? This is amazing. I’m elated. This isn’t going to sink in for days.” 

Husband Jamie is due to undergo surgery on a hernia in the next few weeks and also suffers from a lower back condition. 

Leyla said: “It’s come at such a needed time. We’ve had a really tough 12 months. My husband is quite unwell and needs some surgery. 

“He’s a really, really hard worker and I’m off a lot of the time with the kids. He just keeps going and works every weekend possible while not being in the best of health himself.” 

She added: “He’s not going to believe me. He didn’t believe me when I got a phone call to say I’d won. He just said, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’. I never, ever thought this would happen. My mind didn’t go to this figure at all.” 

Now Leyla is dreaming of taking her nine-year-old son and daughter, aged six, on a festive break to New York and their first family holiday in years. 

She said: “It’s been the kids’ dream to go to New York for Christmas for such a long time because of Home Alone 2. We’ll definitely look at doing it, it’s never been on the cards before.  

“This will allow us to breathe. We’ll go on a family holiday in the summer which has not been possible for quite some years because of work. I’d love to go to southern Turkey.” 

Leyla and dad-of-three Henry had received an email from People’s Postcode Lottery earlier in the day to say that they’d each also won a £10 prize. 

Leyla laughed as she waved her big cheque and said: “I just got a message on my phone saying I’d won £10, too.” 

Grandad Henry’s wife Roberta, 63, added: “He got an email just before you arrived to say that he’d won £10, and he thought maybe that was it.” 

The rest of the Millionaire Street pot was shared among 204 other players in the wider postcode RM18 7 area. Each ticket was worth £727. 

The full breakdown of prizes were:  