You wait ages for a Lottery win, then £38 million comes along all at once

The syndicate of Stagecoach bus drivers who scooped a £38m EuroMillions jackpot after three years of trying all failed to make it into work the next day.

Three of the 12 winners, Jim Paton, 55, brother-in-law Dave Mead, 54, and Charlie Gillion, 65, said they had all handed in their notice.

And Mr Gillion had to borrow a pound from his wife yesterday to buy a paper because the money had not reached his bank account, he said.

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The 12 drivers celebrated their win at the Best Western Rockingham Forest Hotel in Corby, Northants. One has declined to be identified.

The win means each will see just over £3.1m being deposited into their bank accounts.

Meanwhile the winners, all from Corby, declined to comment on reports that Hazel Loveday dropped out of the £2-a-week syndicate six months ago.

They said: “We all like Hazel, she’s a good friend.”

Mr Paton and Mr Mead said they were planning to take their families on holiday together.

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They said: “It just means no stresses any more, no worries, our families are all sorted. It’s a dream. No more worries about bills.”

Meanwhile, father-of-four Alex Robertson, 57, said it was “life-changing” and he would be taking his 78-year-old mother to see her twin in Australia – but only when his new passport comes through.

Mr Robertson, who has 16 grandchildren, said: “She said she’d need to save up the money but I said you’ve no need to do now.

“I let my passport lapse as I never thought I’d be getting out of Corby again.”

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He said one of his sons had never been able to take his five children on holiday after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving with the Army in Bosnia.

He said they were registered carers and had been looking after him since he came home.

“I’ll be giving them a bit of childhood they’ve never had.”

Syndicate leader Chris Smith, 34, said: “We started the syndicate about three years ago and everyone chose a set of numbers – it’s only £2 each in the pot every week.

“On Friday my partner checked half our numbers and I checked the other half – she just passed the winning ticket over and paused the TV on the numbers.

“We kept looking at it and passing it between each other about four or five times. We couldn’t really believe that they all matched.”