LIVING in Herefordshire certainly has its perks for one lucky woman whose postcode helped her win £30,000.

Janet Richards, a single mother of four, also won a brand new BMW 1 series when her Belmont address came up trumps three months after she joined the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Janet, who works for Argos, first signed up because she liked the idea of raising money for good causes and could not believe it when she received her prize from Welsh rugby star Scott Quinell.

“I nearly had a heart attack when they told me how much I’d won. I’m surprised they didn’t have to rush me off to A&E,”

she said. “This is something you dream about but you never really expect it to happen.”

And optimists believing the county is somehow fated with good luck have had plenty of cause for encouragement lately, with Kington hairdresser Sue Herdman scooping £1.1 million on the National Lottery, while Ross-on-Wye’s Liz Jenkins claimed £114,000 in a draw at the beginning of last year.

Now 42-year-old Janet is starting 2011 in much the same way and looks forward to paying off some of her mortgage, taking a well-earned holiday and, most importantly, helping her children achieve their dreams.

“I’m going to give each of them some money so they can get a good start in life,” she said.

“My son’s off to university so I can help him out, and one of my daughters wants to get into acting. Now I’ll be able to travel with her to auditions.”

The charity lottery invites people to play for cash prizes in aid of good causes in their own area, with £11m raised so far.

For more information, visit postcodelottery.com, or call 08081 098765.