HOLIDAYS and DIY are top of the shopping list for this lucky group of friends from York - who have scooped more than £50,000 on the national lottery.

The 25-strong syndicate, all members of York's Burton Working Men's Club, are celebrating after scooping £53,258.

The lucky winners were just one number away from becoming millionaires when they matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the Lotto draw.

Some members of the group plan to splash out on treats for their families while others are hoping to pay off debts.

Most of them were down at the club, in Bootham Crescent, watching the draw live on TV on Saturday night, when they discovered they had won.

Syndicate organiser David Peel, 59, checked the numbers on the ticket and suddenly realised they had matched five numbers and the bonus ball.

News soon spread around the club and the celebrations got under way.

David, whose wife Brenda, 58, is also in the syndicate, said: "No one could believe it.

"We were all so shocked and people kept asking if it was true.

"We immediately phoned people in the syndicate who weren't at the club to let them know. Everyone was so excited and we were all celebrating.

"People are going to be spending it on things like paying off debts, DIY and family treats. Some are already planning holidays - including Australia.

"It's really fantastic to have won and it is the talk of the club!"

The syndicate, which includes David and Brenda, as well as Kenneth Thompson, James Thompson, Lillian Coombs, Donald Ainsworth, Carol Suter and Ronald Watson, has been playing the lottery together for four years but they've never had a big win before.

Their ticket was a Lucky Dip and was bought at the Tesco store at Clifton Moor.

The winning Lotto numbers on the day, Saturday, September 29, were 1, 9, 10, 11, 16, 49 and the bonus ball was 37.

So if the syndicate had replaced number 37 with a number 10 on the winning ticket, they could have scooped £4.2 million.

Meanwhile, tonight's Lotto jackpot is an estimated £4.5million - and the group say they definitely plan to invest in another ticket.