Shocked residents received an early Christmas present when their postcode was drawn as the winner in the People's Postcode Lottery.

The neighbours in Cliffe have bagged a share of the £8.4 million prize pot.

Cliffe residents left overwhelmed after winning People's Postcode Lottery

More than 500 people are celebrating after ME3 7 was drawn out of the hat for the largest single prize fund the competition has ever awarded.

Nine lucky neighbours in ME3 7QL were celebrating the most after each landed £342,375 with a tenth netting £684,750 thanks to playing with two tickets.

Taxi driver Paul Laker and his wife Alison were stunned into silence when they were told they had both won £342,375.

Paul, 61, said: "We didn’t really believe it. We didn’t know how much or who was going to turn up today. We’ve both won and it feels amazing.

“We really didn’t know what to expect. It’s life changing isn’t it? We want to help our girls. This secures us for the rest of our lives really.”

Alison, 57, added: "It’s amazing that everybody can have a lovely Christmas after the last two years being so tough. It would be nice to say we’ll spend it on a holiday. Our holiday to Florida has been cancelled a couple of times due to Covid, so now we can make it extra special."

The couple say they plan to treat the family over the Christmas holidays for their three children and five grandchildren and Alison wants to spoil herself with a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Marion Milton could not believe her eyes when the cheque was revealed and could only say: "Oh my God! Oh no. Oh my goodness me."

She added: "It means a lot for me because I can help my children and my grandchildren with that amount."

She will now be able to visit her son in Australia for the first time in about three years and are now planning to go first class once Covid restrictions allow them to travel.

“It’s life changing for us and it’s life changing for my children. It means the absolute world for us. I can’t wait to tell the children," she said.

“We never thought in our wildest dreams though we’d be a winner. Never. I still can’t get over it. I think I need a stiff drink!”

Marion joked that the win meant that her husband could get her another gift for the festive season saying: “He bought me a new ring for Christmas which was silver, but we might need to up the ante a bit and upgrade to white gold."

It was already an emotional day for Marion who was attending a memorial service for her brother later that day.

"We’ll celebrate his life. We lost him in August and he was cremated and sent out to sea, as he loved the sea.

"His daughter picked the date as today is his birthday and then when I found out the lottery was coming, I thought: ‘Thank you Murray.’”

Retired teacher Simon Clarke was so surprised he nearly fell to the floor in shock.

Simon, 65, said: "Oh my gosh! Have you got a medic handy? I’ve just gone weak at the knees. That is fantastic. We can help a few people with that. I’m speechless, lost for words."

His wife Carol said: "We wondered if it was real. We never win anything, the most has been a tenner! It’s a phenomenal amount of money, a life-changing amount.

"It's a great way to kick off the new year. It will be lovely to go on a holiday when things start to open up again. It’s far exceeded our expectations.

"The amount of money that’s been shared out today is phenomenal. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.”

Simon added: "It’s high on our list that our family get a better start and achieve the things they want to.

"We’re thinking of taking our daughter on holidays, she’s worked all the way through the lockdowns in a nursery. It might go towards our daughter moving into a new house or our son adding an extension.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Payne and partner Tracey were joined by their family who erupted with a huge cheer when they opened the cheque to reveal their winnings and said they would be cracking open the champagne.

Tracey said it would allow her to rethink her retirement and potentially move the date forward and hopes to go to holiday in Mexico.

She said: "My youngest son, his wife and the two babies live with us and are saving for a deposit and I think we’ll help them and boost their deposit. The middle one is renovating at the moment and my eldest is getting married.”

Great-grandmother Betty Reilly was left in tears when lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson appeared on her doorstep.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, I don’t think. How wonderful! What a wonderful thing to happen at Christmas," she said.

Her daughter Sharon was also a winner as she lives nearby but not in the postcode with the full prizes.

Betty was even more shocked when she realised the six-figure sum, after initially misreading the amount on the cheque, and plans to get a new car.

Sharon added: “It’s so overwhelming. You see it on television and think it’ll never happen and then the lottery turned up.

“My mum is still quite independent at 85 and she likes to zoom around everywhere, she’s a trendy great grandma.”

Mum-of-two Jodi Johnson said: "We’re all going to have a lovely Christmas.

"You never really think it’s going to be you. I can’t believe it. It just means the world; everyone struggles and there’s always a weight on your shoulders and it’s just been lifted. This is going to change our lives.

“I’m so excited, I can’t even comprehend how much money that is. It’s more than we could have dreamed of really.

"I’ll buy a car for our daughter for when she passes. She’s learning at the moment. We can pay for all her lessons, get her a car and get her insured.

"I’ve always wanted a conservatory and I might be able to get one now."

A total of 537 other players in the postcode sector won prizes ranging from £7,522 to £22,566 depending on the number of tickets played with.

The People’s Postcode Lottery also supports charities and players have raised more than £800m for 9,000 charities and good causes since 2005.