WE'VE all dreamt of winning big on the lottery – and for some lucky Cheshire residents that dream has come true.

The People's Postcode Lottery has seen tens of thousands of pounds awarded to players in our area over the years.

It is a subscription-based lottery where people sign up with their postcodes for £10 a month, and if a winning postcode is drawn, every player in that postcode scoops a cash prize.

Every weekend, winning postcodes are announced where players each win £30,000, and once a month one lucky postcode area will share a massive £3 million prize total.

Here are four of the biggest prize wins for residents across mid Cheshire and Knutsford.

CW8 1SG, Hartford

An incredible 185 Hartford residents were all able to celebrate back in January 2016 when CW8 1 was announced as a winner in the People's Postcode Millions draw.

With a total prize of £3 million on offer, the lucky winners each received between £11,000 and £400,000.

But it wasn't until a special event at the Mere Golf Resort and Spa that the full winning postcode of CW8 1SG was revealed.

Knutsford Guardian:

Two players had the lucky postcode – teaching assistant Caroline Askew and computer sciences teacher Kim Harding – with each bagging £400,000.

Caroline said: "This is just amazing, this has completely secured our future."

Kim, who said she had an itchy palm the night before the big reveal at Mere, added: "I googled reasons for itchy palms, and it said it could mean I was set to receive some money. I certainly turned out to be right."

CW9 7DY, Rudheath 

Five lucky players from Farm Road each scooped £25,000 when their postcode was drawn in September 2016.

Alison Astles, one of the winners, said: "I thought I'd maybe won £1,000 so when I realised it was actually £25,000 I was so happy. I'm still in shock."

John Pickering, another lucky winner, added: "I'm shocked, I'm excited, I'm a bit of everything.

Knutsford Guardian:

"I've had some ideas about what I might spend the money on but I don't want to give too many secrets away just yet."

WA16 6JN, Mobberley

One lucky Mobberley resident, who chose to remain anonymous, scooped a massive £50,000 cash prize in April this year.

WA16 0RZ, High Legh

It was a family affair in High Legh back in July this year, as a nurse and his mum each won £30,000, as well as one of their neighbours.

Ashley Fenton discovered the good news when his mum, Lorraine, called him to let him know that golden envelopes had arrived for them both.

He said: "I was in work when my mum rang me and I thought it was a scam.

"I've been waiting to put a deposit down on a house, and it would've taken me years to save up so that's sorted now. I've never seen that much in my account ever."

Lorraine, who had previously encouraged her son to play, said: "I'm over the moon. This means a lot to me but I'm just so happy for Ashley."

The £30,000 prize also came at a good time for neighbour Sam Cotton, with a second child on the way.

Knutsford Guardian:

He added: "We can get a nice new family home now. When something positive hits you like this it's just really nice, and with everyone winning together it just picks everyone up."

A minimum of 32 per cent of People's Postcode Lottery ticket sales goes directly to charities and players have raised more than £500 million to good causes so far.

To find out more about the People's Postcode Lottery visit postcodelottery.co.uk