OFFICIALS of the St John's Hospice in Wirral Weekly Lottery are expecting to reach an all-important milestone within the next week or two - their 10,000th member.

"It will be a significant landmark in our relatively short history," said Lottery manager Allan Stewart. "We were hoping to chalk up our 10,000th member before Christmas, but understandably that tends to be a slow recruitment time for us and the growth in membership slowed down immediately before and after the Yuletide celebrations."

He added: "But in recent weeks, membership has picked up again and we expect to reach the 10,000 mark within the next week or two. That will be tremendous news for us because it is only a little more than 12 months since St John's Hospice Weekly Lottery was launched.

"We are extremely grateful to the people of Wirral for the fantastic support they have shown over the years for St John's, and their willingness to back this fund-raising venture further underlines the affection which the public clearly has for the hospice."

Meanwhile, a woman from Little Neston, South Wirral, has become the latest winner of the £2,000 weekly jackpot. The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, is understandably delighted at her windfall.

Each week throughout the year, the St John's Hospice lottery computer selects at random the 54 numbers which share the £3,000 weekly prize money - a top prize of £2,000, second prize of £500, third prize of £100, fourth prize of £50, 20 £10 winners and 30 £5 winners.

The winning numbers are published each week in the Wirral Globe. Membership of the lottery, open to people aged 16 or over, costs £1 per week.

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