A man who bagged £1million in a Postcode Lottery win has revealed how he splashed the cash, including getting a top-of-the-range Mercedes in a spending spree
A beloved grandad has revealed the extent of his spending spree since he pocketed £1million in a Postcode Lottery win.
Davie Crowder won a whopping £1.02m in April last year. Since, the 63-year-old has bought himself new golf clubs, a top-of-the-range Mercedes and even splashed out on commissioning a luxury bungalow. Davie, from Bridge of Earn in Perthshire, Scotland, also spent on his family and friends following his “life-changing” win.
“It’s made my life so much easier,” Davie said on a visit to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), one of his favourite charities. “I’ve been able to help my family and friends, which I would do anyway, but not to that extent.
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“We always say it never happens to guys like me, but it does. It’s insane, it really is — but a nice insane. It’s a mad, mad thing — but it’s great. The big thing is the security, not just for me but for the family as well. Their futures are pretty much secured now, too.”
Davie’s also helped his golf club in buying a new tractor. He added: “I made a good donation to the Dunkeld Golf Club. They were after a new tractor and were struggling a bit for money, so I helped them out.”
He landed his windfall with 10 neighbours in their close-knit village estate after PH2 9FG won Postcode Lottery’s Millions prize on April 27, last year, the Daily Record reports.
The big winners were joined at a special event in Perth’s South Inch Park by 522 other players living in six villages – Aberargie, Abernethy, Bridge of Earn, Forgandenny, Forteviot and Glenfarg – across the wider PH2 9 postcode area. They won cheques ranging from £8,629 to £43,145, depending on the number of tickets they played with.
Davie, a sergeant in the Black Watch and a Detective Constable with the former Grampian Police, pointed to SCAA’s life-saving helicopter stationed at their base at Perth Airport and said that’s why he plays Postcode Lottery — and SCAA’s own lottery.
He said: “I never join these lotteries to win; I like contributing to them. You just have to look at the helicopter out there, to see what the benefit is. It’s a great feeling when you can help charities like Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance. I’ve been in helicopters since I was 19 in the Army and my son’s obviously in and out them every other day while working on the rigs.
“When I was in the police there were quite a few serious incidents where the air ambulance came along to help out. There’s a connection there all the way through.
“And I have a few ex-colleagues from the police now working for the air ambulance up in Aberdeen. It takes a lot of money to run these things. If you’re not in it, join it. I might change my postcode when I move, actually.”
He added: “I still contribute to the air ambulance charity and Postcode Lottery.” And he laughed: “I’ve never won the air ambulance lottery though!”
SCAA was also celebrating on the same day that Davie bagged his million after it was announced the charity would receive £300,000 of Postcode Lottery funding every year in addition to the £1,150,000 players have already raised.
Criona Knight, director of development and engagement, said: “As a charity we are really conscious that without the players there wouldn’t be this pot of funding each year.
“It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to sit face to face in front of someone to say thank you for supporting the charity for so long and for playing People’s Postcode Lottery.”
In the year to March, SCAA had nearly 1,000 callouts for their Perth and Aberdeen based helicopters, as well as their rapid response vehicles. They airlifted 326 patients to hospital and dealt with 347 trauma cases.
More than 130 of the flights involved taking a specialist doctor-led team – basically taking an A&E department to the incident scene to treat injury or illness. The crews also covered almost 83,000 nautical miles – almost four times the distance round the world.
