Essex mother's £400k lottery win comes after 'really tough' 12 months with husband battling hernia

A mother says she's "elated" after winning more than £411,000 in a lottery following a difficult year with her husband battling a hernia.

Leyla Eaton, 33, from Tilbury, Essex said the prize has come at "such a needed time" as her husband, Jamie, is due to undergo surgery in the next few weeks.

Ms Eaton, who runs a courier firm with her husband, won the prize alongside her neighbour - Henry Aimiuwu, a chemistry teacher.

They won the money due to their postcode being drawn in the People's Postcode Lottery announced on Saturday.

Ms Eaton said: "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.

"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."

She said: “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.

"Now this just two months later! This all feels very surreal, but I'm so thankful."

She's now planning to celebrate by taking her two children, a nine year old son and six year old daughter, on holidays to New York and Turkey.

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."

Next door neighbour, Henry Aimiuwu, 56, also won the prize - which shares a £1 million amongst all players in the winning postcode area .

The chemistry teacher originally thought he had won £10 when he received an email from the company earlier in the day.

Then, when he found out he had won the jackpot, he fell to his knees and broke down.

He said: "I hope when I wake up tomorrow, I will still be able to say, ‘I’m me’ and that this is real.

"This is huge, this is too huge. Winning is winning, but this is life-transforming. It is just crazy.

Mr Aimiuwu plans on treating himself and his wife, Roberta, as well as his three children to his dream holiday destinations.

He said: "Canada is a place I’ve never been to but have always admired. Then Portugal. My colleagues have told me about Madeira. And I can take my family with us. What a feeling!”

The rest of the prize pot was shared among 204 other players in the wider postcode area.

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