Maggie's received their first cheque of the year from PPL, which was for over £180,000.  This brings the total raised from Scotland's first charity lottery to Maggie's to an outstanding £557,147.

Angus Purden from the PPL visited Maggie's Highlands on Saturday to present the updated cheque total to Centre Head, Carole Bridge.

Angus was also in Inverness for the PPL's spring Belter, which brought excitement to the village of Balloch, just outside of Inverness.

Over 1,000 local residents turned out for the party held at Balloch Primary School on Sunday after the start of their postcode IV2 7 was drawn as the winning postcode for the belter.

There were 238 winners in all, sharing a massive £1,108,000.  Two lucky players were left speechless with huge Street Prizes of £199,670.

Carole Bridge, Maggie’s Highlands Centre Head, said: “It’s an absolute honour to receive the first cheque of 2009 from the People’s Postcode Lottery here at Maggie’s Highlands.  And what a fantastic sum of money it is!  In realistic terms, the money raised so far this year for Maggie’s, will fund the running costs of this Centre for a period of six months.  That is six months of vital support and advice to people from all over The Highlands facing the devastating consequences of cancer. 

"To have the People’s Postcode Lottery Belter land on our doorstep this week was so exciting.  The goodwill feeling created within the community by this huge windfall was wonderful to witness.  Everyone signed up should also be on a high through the realisation that they have helped raise a tremendous sum of money for Scottish charities.  On behalf of Maggie’s and our centre users here in The Highlands, I would like to say thank you so much to everyone signed up for the People’s Postcode Lottery for the massive difference that you are making to people’s lives across Scotland.”