DD postcode among luckiest

More than 200 players in the DD postcode area have banked prizes of more than £50,000 since the first draw in November 1994, while 21 people have won more than £1 million.

The area’s residents have in the past been described as some of the “luckiest in the UK” after it was revealed the postcode had one of the highest number of big-money wins.

Former Arbroath lifeboat coxswain David Gerrard and his wife Mary won £1.2 million in 1996.

The win was surrounded by a blaze of publicity after Mr Gerrard, only the year before, was declared bankrupt following the collapse of his boatyard firm Gerrard Brothers of Arbroath.

Brechin hit the news in 1999 when a 10-strong syndicate from the Dalhousie Bar shared a whopping £4m. The 10 members each took home £407,460.

That same year, Carnoustie couple Derek and Teresa Esposito won £1.3m.

The Espositos attributed their win to a “lucky” porcelain elf called Ryan, under which they kept their lottery tickets. They decided to announce their windfall because they did not want relatives and friends burdened by the secret.

Angus was nicknamed the “Golden Triangle” following the success.

But those sums almost seem like loose cash compared to the £148m that Carnoustie woman Gillian Bayford and her now ex-husband Adrian landed in 2012.