MILLIONS of pounds was shared out among households in Swindon last week thanks to the People's Postcode Lottery.

There were 597 winning players in Toothill, Freshbrook and Rushey Platt who shared the £3m Monthly Millions prize pot, the majority going to three winning households on Wallingford Close who each took home £353,547.

The more players in a house hold - who can each buy up to three tickets in the prize draws - the more money is won.

For example, in Rushey Platt there were five winning households which won varying amounts depending on the number of player and tickets bought.

Two players at an address on Sword Gardens each played with one ticket so won £4,518, where as their neighbour on Utah Close by the park only played with one ticket so won £2,259.

This was trumped however by a household with an SN5 8ZG postcode nearby who played with four tickets and won £9,036.

MORE NEWS: Check the interactive map to find winners near you.

Some of the biggest other winners in Toothill were on Belsay, which won £24,849, an address on Deerhurst Way got £20,331,Stamford Close, which got £18,000, and the end of Oakham close which won £11,295.

Including the big SN5 8 draw last Friday in the last 12 months in the SN postcode, which goes as far out as Chippenham and Devizes, players in total won £3.928,816.

There were 718 winners each bagging more than £1,000, meaning almost £1 million was shared out in smaller draws throughout the year.

In Swindon in October last year a household on Stonybeck Close in Westlea won £9,000 and in July 2018 a house on Silverton Road in Walcot won £8,000.

Those who scooped the six-figure jackpot reported to the Adver that the win will be life changing.

Mum of an adult autistic son Catherine Winton said she would be able to buy extra support for him and her husband Neil will be able to volunteer more at local charity Disability Sport Plus while working part-time.

The other winners were bus driver Ian Tayler and husband and wife Theresa and Richard Force-Jones.

Ian said he wouldn't let the win go to his head and would be back at work on Monday, and was looking forward to going to visit his granddaughter in Australia.

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “It’s not just winners who have their lives changed with People’s Postcode Lottery. Thanks to funding raised by our players, a number of local charities in and around Swindon that work at the grass-roots level have received funding to do fantastic work supporting the community.

"From providing services to improve patients’ experience in hospital, to enhancing conservation efforts, these projects are making a real difference.”

The parent company of the lottery is Novamedia, a social enterprise which also runs seven other charity lotteries in European countries from Germany, to Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The UK lottery, which sees 32 per cent of revenue go to charitable causes, has grown exponentially in the last five years, in 2012 players raised £6.1 million for charity, but by 2017 this grew to £93.3 million.

In 2017 Pennyhooks Farm Trust was awarded £7,429 to create conservation areas such as ponds and orchards around the farm to be used to develop the knowledge and skills of its autistic students.

Chippenham Hospital Radio received £1,552 and Devizes in Bloom got £1,000 for a project to engage local schools in issues of wildlife and sustainability.