Atten'shun! County Durham TA staff scoop £100,000 lotto win (From The Northern Echo)
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Atten'shun! County Durham TA staff scoop £100,000 lotto win
3:01pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in News
Mr Jones with his wife Linda
TEN Territorial Army staff are celebrating after scooping more than £100,000 on the National Lottery.
The syndicate from 102 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) Volunteers (V), based in Newton Aycliffe, matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the Lotto draw held on Saturday, January 21.
Alwyn Jones, 62, from Darlington, is leader of the syndicate and formed the group a year ago to increase their chances of winning, instead of all playing separately.
Mr Jones, who served in the Army for 37 years before joining 102 Battalion REME as a storeman, said: "As the syndicate leader it's up to me to check the tickets, but I didn't get round to it for a while, as I only check when I go and pay for the following week's tickets.
"This time I paid as usual and then asked the shop assistant if she could check the previous week's results and that's when she told me I had a winning ticket.
"I didn't believe her at first and I just stood there stunned in disbelief. I told the rest of the group the next day and it took me a while to convince them that we had matched five numbers plus the bonus ball and won a nice amount."
Alison Smith and David Evans, two other members of the syndicate, have also decided to go public - the pair both work alongside Mr Jones at 102 Battalion.
Mr Jones, who is married with two children and eight grandchildren, plans to spend his winnings on a new kitchen and treating his wife Linda to a cruise around the Caribbean to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this year.
