An Owlthorpe woman is several thousand pounds better off after winning Bluebell Wood's lottery rollover, but she nearly missed out on her prize. 

Thanks to the detective skills of our lottery fundraiser, Janet Ireland was tracked down and given her £2,800 winnings. The good news also came as Janet was celebrating her 75^th birthday. 

Janet signed up for our lottery several years ago, with her weekly tickets paid for by standing order. However she later moved house, and when her winning numbers came up, hospice staff discovered that her contact details were out of date. 

After searching high and low, Bluebell Wood’s lottery fundraiser Kelly Gerrard found that Janet was connected to Sheffield United Disabled Supporters Association. Lifelong United supporter and season ticket holder Janet runs the group with her husband Cameron, which helps disabled supporters to attend Blades’ away games around the country. 

Janet, who worked with children and adults with special needs before her retirement, said: “I’ve played the Bluebell Wood lottery all these years because I think it’s an extremely good cause and I wanted to support it. It was a great surprise to get the call telling me I’d won and a lovely extra bonus on top of celebrating my birthday with friends and family.” 

Kelly Gerrard, Lottery Fundraiser, Bluebell Wood: “Janet took a bit of tracking down but I’m really glad we discovered her connection to Sheffield United so that she could claim her prize. Everyone who plays the Bluebell Wood lottery is helping families across our region facing the toughest of times, and they’re also giving themselves the chance of winning £1,000 every single week, or more if it’s a rollover week.” 

All proceeds from the Bluebell Wood weekly lottery help the children’s hospice to support children and young adults whose lives are just too short. Tickets cost £1 each, with £1,200 worth of prizes won each week, including a first prize of £1,000 and £50 and £10 prizes. The draw also includes a chance to win a rollover prize of up to £5,200. 

To have a chance of winning please visit your nearest Bluebell Wood shop or enter online here.