'Lottery win means I can pursue my dream'

'Lottery win means I can pursue my dream'

Isle of Wight resident Abbie West-Long says her Postcode Lottery win is life changing

Abbie West-Long was getting ready to alter her dream of moving to Canada with her partner when there was a knock at the door.

After finding out she had won £333,332 in the Postcode Lottery, the charity volunteer said she "just started crying".

Now, the 34-year-old from Cowes on the Isle of Wight says she can go after her dream and start a new life with partner Daryl Marlow in the Canadian Rockies.

Ms West-Long is one of five neighbours in her street to share £1m in winnings.

Abbie West-Long and her partner Daryl Marlow plan to use their winnings to pursue their dream of moving to Canada

The Postcode Lottery team came on Tuesday to hand out individual tickets worth £166,666.

But because Ms West-Long has been playing with two tickets for the past three years, her prize was doubled.

"They phoned me and all they told me was I'd won 'a prize'. Then there was a week of sitting in lots of anxiety and waiting for that knock on the door," the childcare practitioner said.

"For around five years we've wanted to move to Canada. We've put random timers on it to save between the jobs we've had and life happens and obviously things get in the way.

Ms West-Long continued: "But we had started a new timer a couple of months ago and said 'if we can't get it done it will be this, or we'll change our plans'.

"Then literally a month later got that knock on my door and it changed everything."

Five neighbours living in Cowes on the Isle of Wight won £1m between them

Ms West-Long and Mr Marlow, 39, had been trying to save a minimum of £10,000 for a new life in Canada, which they had pencilled in for 2028.

Now, their timetable has moved forward and they are hoping to relocate in six months' time.

She added: "Our dream move and plan has accelerated massively.

"I do feel like I'm dreaming because this isn't something that happens to me. I usually expect bad news.

"We've been sat going through every dream possible and then thinking, 'oh my God, I don't deserve this, why would I get this?'"

"We've been out to Canada a couple of times and it just felt right. [The money] has ticked all the boxes, it's more than enough."

Abbie and Daryl have been dreaming of moving to Canada for the last five years

The couple, who have been together for 13 years, are hoping to start a family there.

Mr Marlow added: "We have literally not been able to provide the level of stability that we've wanted to start a family, until now."

With the prize worth more than $620,000 in Canadian dollars, the pair are hoping to buy a home in British Columbia, where they imagine living for the rest of their lives.

"A house, land, a dog, a snow shovel, a car," Ms West-Long said.

Her partner added: "Everything we could want."

Abbie has been buying two tickets a month for the Postcode Lottery for the last three years