Shropshire pie factory syndicate wins big slice of EuroMillions for second time
A syndicate of workers from a pie factory in Market Drayton have won a major EuroMillions prize for the second time.
Five of the current syndicate were also members of the November 2006 EuroMillions winning group from Palethorpe’s Pie Factory who each shared a slice of a £6.7m prize pie. Nearly 10 years later a 25-strong syndicate has won £303,465.20 from last Friday’s draw.
Back in November 2006, a 33-strong syndicate from the factory won £6,750,278.40 – £204,553.89 each – from a Lucky Dip ticket bought at One Stop, Shrewsbury Road, Market Drayton. Fast forward to 2016 and five members of the original winning syndicate are part of a new syndicate that is based in the same department as the lucky 2006 winners.
The winning EuroMillions numbers on Friday 17 November, 2006 were 12, 22, 32, 33, 36, and Lucky Star numbers were 2 and 6. This time round the winning numbers were 1, 5, 23, 29, 32 and the Lucky Stars were 1 and 7, and the winning Lucky Dip ticket was bought at Morrisons, Maer Lane, Market Drayton, just a few hundred yards down the road from the factory gates. Each member is now looking forward to tucking into their slice of the pie, worth £12,138.60.
Syndicate leader Mary Viggers (60) was one of the original five winners. She said: “I feel very lucky! I can’t believe that lightning has struck twice. Some of the same members, the same department, the same room even…it’s just unbelievable.”
Mary was at home when she found out about the win. She said: “I was watching the TV on the sofa and decided to check the numbers that were bought just a few hours earlier. I counted 1,2,3,4,5 and closed my eyes wondering if a Lucky Star or two would appear. Then one of them did and I couldn’t believe it. I showed my husband Peter, who as usual was nice and calm, and then I called two of the other syndicate members to ask them to check the tickets because they have copies.”
Within 10 minutes, fellow syndicate member and shift manager Gary Parton popped in to the Viggers’ house to confirm the numbers. Mary doesn’t have a mobile so couldn’t text the other members so Gary and another colleague, Tiffany Hughes, started the job of telling the rest of the group. Mary then put the winning ticket behind the clock on the mantel piece for safe keeping.
Word spread across the factory that Department Make, Shift B had won for a second time, and when Mary and her colleagues went back to work people wanted to touch them to see if the luck would rub off on them!
Mary said: “I can’t believe it’s the same department, room…everything! What are the chances of that? We are the talk of the factory and now the town. People want to touch me, rub my shoulder…it’s just like last time.” The new winning syndicate are a mixture of factory operatives, supervisors and managers in the Make 3 department who make pies at the Palethorpe factory.
The syndicate are now looking forward to spending their winnings. The shopping list includes driving lessons, cars, a deposit on a house and three-piece suite! The group haven’t had time to organise a celebration but will do when they next have a day off.
The winning Lucky Dip ticket was bought from Morrisons, Maer Lane, Market Drayton TF9 3AL, just a few hundred yards away from the factory gates. The winning numbers were 1, 5, 23, 29, 32 and the Lucky Stars were 1 and 7.
