A massive work syndicate of 46 people have won The National Lottery at the perfect time.

Crystal Martin’s warehouse in Sutton, where they all work, is closing this summer and all warehousing staff are being made redundant.

Crystal Martin warehouse senior supervisor Craig Rowland created the syndicate in February as a way to bring everyone together following the closure announcement.

The syndicate matched five numbers plus one lucky star to win £159,609.40 — each syndicate member will get £3,469.76.

Craig (40) said: “I was out with a group of both past and present work colleagues having a curry when my phone rang.

“It was Derrick and Denise Marshall. Denise is a fellow syndicate member and they wanted to know if I had checked the EuroMillions draw that night.

“I quickly checked the numbers myself on the National Lottery app and then phoned my wife, Natalie, who was at home to scan the tickets.

“Derek and Denise were right! I had four of the syndicate with me that night and they were all asking me while I was on the phone if we had won and how much.

“We were all gobsmacked but didn’t want to get too excited as the ticket hadn’t been checked. We decided to stay calm as we couldn’t do anything until the following day, and so went for a quick drink after the curry rather than rushing home just to check the ticket again.

“It was about 11.30pm when I got home. I sat checking the ticket again and again via the National Lottery App.
“I decided I’d phone first thing the next morning, put the ticket inside a bedside cabinet for safe keeping and tried to get some sleep… which I didn’t.”

The first thing Craig and Natalie, who have two children and are from Mansfield, are going to do is buy a new door for their cooker.

“The door hinge has been broken for a while and I’ve just never got it sorted. The rest of the money is going into a special pot because we are hoping to move home in the future,” said Craig.

The traditional National Lottery win celebration has had to be put on ice for the syndicate because of the current social distancing advice from the government.

Craig accepted the cheque on behalf of the syndicate and promised to hold a celebration when the time was right.

He said: “We have a giant bottle of champagne ,which has enough for a glass for every syndicate member, but it is important we all keep a safe distance at the moment. We will keep washing our hands for the time being and save our celebration for later.”

Other members of the 46-strong syndicate include Denise, Lynne Haslam and Dave Clayton.

Warehouse operative Denise (59), also of Mansfield, was watching the draw live on the National Lottery YouTube channel when she saw the numbers come up.

She said: “It’s great timing, everybody is so pleased and for me personally it gives me a financial comfort blanket until I work out what to do with it, but I will be treating my four grandchildren.”

Lynne (45), from Morton, who also works in the warehouse, said: “(It) feels great and after a difficult time at work recently the whole place is buzzing. The first thing I’m buying is a new living room carpet.”

Warehouse supervisor Dave (57), of Selston, added: “I’ve got some essentials to buy, like a door and (getting the car an) MOT, but I’m going to enjoy the rest.”

Craig was paid the winnings before distributing the money to the rest of the group. Rather than electronically transferring the money, he wrote a cheque out to every member of the group and presented them with their winnings at work.

He said: “I ordered a couple of cheque books and when the money cleared in my account, spent the evening writing them all out. It may sound a bit old-fashioned to write a cheque, but it seemed more personal.

“We are all gutted about the closing of the warehouse but the win is great news for a great bunch of people who I know will all find new jobs. The win couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Craig buys 46 Lucky Dips at the Tesco Express on Alfreton Road, Sutton.