'That's made my day, that has': Lucky West Midlands bus drivers scoop more than £100k on Euro Millions ticket

“That's made my day, that has” is a line from the classic ‘One the Buses’ TV show which will be repeated by an 80‑strong syndicate of Birmingham bus drivers who have scooped more than £100,000  in the Euro Millions  lottery draw,

The gang actually called ‘On the Buses Syndicate’ includes current and former s drivers based at the National Express Yardley Wood garage are celebrating after winning £108,510.50 by matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number on May 22.

Syndicate leader, Dennis Houghton, a ged 73 , says:, “I’m suddenly Mr Popular, I can’t tell you how many pats on the back I’ve had since we discovered our nice little bonus. Everyone is so happy, but maybe not as happy as our gaffer who is relieved we didn’t match all the numbers; if we had, Birmingham might well have been a little bit short on bus drivers.

“I was at home on Saturday morning when I checked the tickets on my National Lottery app, and while I heard the little bell confirm a win I assumed I would see a few quid, but seeing all those thousands was quite a surprise. I quickly called the first name that jumped into my head to share the news – my logic was, if the shock kills me someone else will know.”

As the good news spread, the other syndicate members called to check they’d won. “I’ve never heard ‘is this for real’ so many times in my life,” Dennis says. 

The lucky syndicate started life 17 years ago when a fellow driver suggested they should all go in together for the EuroMillions Jackpot that coming Friday.

Dennis recalls: “After that one draw, word must have spread because the following week people arrived with their few quid wanting to join the syndicate, some I’d never even met before. I joke that it’s an accidental syndicate, what started out as an informal, ’have a go’ with 24 of the drivers very quickly grew to an 80-strong syndicate with a waiting list and I had to quickly come up with a plan for managing it.” 

And the plan Dennis created runs as perfectly planned as a Birmingham bus timetable. The syndicate plays a mix of Lucky Dips and their own numbers every week, picked by Dennis at random from a jar containing the numbers 1-59 on individual bits of paper before every draw.  Dennis then posts a photo of the ticket onto the On the Buses syndicate’s Facebook page .

“You always play hoping to win and while this is not exotic holiday winnings it’s a very nice little windfall for us all. Plus, it’s been great to celebrate this brilliant bit of good luck with everyone. One of our retired bus drivers said if I’d told him he’d be back to celebrate a National Lottery win he’d have laughed - all the way to the bank,” he adds.

Each member of the On the Buses syndicate will enjoy an equal share of the prize. Dennis explains that he was on holiday when he bought the On the Buses winning EuroMillions ticket at Geralds Supermarket on Warren Road in Dawlish Warren, Devon.

The winning ticket was one of two in the UK which matched the five main numbers and one Lucky Star to scoop £108,510.50.