AN Okehampton woman is celebrating a surprise bumper Christmas present this year — the top £1,000 prize in the weekly Hospicecare lottery draw.

Edna Wills bought her weekly ticket from the Hospicecare shop in Okehampton's Victorian Arcade — amazingly she is the fourth top prize winner to have purchased a winning ticket from the shop.

Mrs Wills said: 'When I went into the shop they said it seemed to be lucky — it's a wonderful Christmas present!

'I started doing the lottery maybe two months ago. I have actually had a small win, so this must be my lucky year!'

Mrs Wills is a nursing auxiliary and cares for many of the sort of patients that benefit from Hospicecare. She said the lottery is raising money for a 'marvellous' cause.

'I haven't quite decided what to do with it yet,' she said. 'Put in in the bank and think about it for a while, get a little bit of interest!'

Sarah Smith, lottery assistant for Hospicecare, said the chances of four people buying a winning ticket from the same shop were 'pretty small'.

'It certainly does seem to be lucky — I think I'll have to buy my ticket from there!' she said.

She said there are around 3,390 members of the weekly lottery, which started last winter. Members pay £1 a week for the chance of winning one of 40 cash prizes ranging from £1,000, £100 and £75 right down to 20 £5 winners.

The aim of the lottery is to provide a steady income towards the £2 million-per-year running costs of Exeter and District Hospice and the home care nurses, many of whom work with patients in the Okehampton area.

Sarah said it was 'amazing' to ring winners each week to tell them their good news and hear their reactions.

'It really brightens your day. When I came in yesterday and opened the post there were three letters from people — and they'd only won £10.

'Particularly with the smallest prizes a lot of people send them back and quite often main prize winners also make a donation which is nice.'

Sarah said it is a 'constant battle' to raise funds for Hospicecare — which apart from a 26 percent grant from the NHS is run entirely on fundraising efforts.

The charity is local and independent and provides a free service to patients and their families.

Tickets for the weekly lottery can be paid for on standing order from the bank, by collectors in some areas or in the charity's nine shops — particularly the lucky one in Okehampton!