JACKPOT winner Arthur Whittaker joined fellow lottery winners for a special lunch this week to mark the National Lottery’s 15th anniversary.

Arthur, a winder at ASK Rewinds Ltd, a motor repair and rewind specialists on Altham Industrial Estate, was among a syndicate of 13 colleagues who won £4m in March.

Arthur, along with son Andy and his wife Jayne, and colleagues Peter Lewis, Steve Goodyear, Kieron McNamara, Jimmy Austell, Gary Sherrington, Michael Keegan, June McSherry, Liz Hollis, plus two others, scooped a massive £3,938,641 after matching all six numbers on the Lotto rollover draw.

Each member of the syndicate, which has been running for 10 years, has won £302,972.

Speaking after the dinner, Arthur, 79, said: "Nothing has changed. All but one of the syndicate still work there.

Plenty

"I have made sure my family are alright. I have given them plenty, leaving a bit for myself.

"But if I stopped work I would get bored at home and my wife Doris would say I’m under her feet.

"Luckily I still have good health on my side.

"We still have a syndicate running and the three who weren’t in the winning syndicate have since joined.

"They had long faces for a while, but they have now come into the group. After all, you never know if you’ll win it again.

"We have won bits since – £450, £50s and £10s. You just have to be in it to win it.

We have played the lottery for about 10 years when everyone picked their numbers and pays £2 a week. We have stuck to that every since."