A group of Maidstone colleagues are celebrating after a £1m lottery win, with one splashing out... on a new wheelie bin.

The 13 workers, who jokingly refer to themselves as The Misfits Syndicate, are based at DHL’s distribution centre on Hermitage Lane.

But this week it was a giant cheque they were taking delivery of, after winning a share of the Millionaire Raffle jackpot in the Lotto draw.

They will each be taking home £76,923.07.

Syndicate leader, Mandy Richards, said: "I always check our numbers after the draw but I’ll be honest, don’t always look at the Millionaire Raffle code, I usually leave this to be checked on the machine when I go in to buy the next month’s tickets.

"And that’s what happened with this win, it’s just amazing to think that little slip of paper, worth one million, was just sitting in my tin at home!”

Thankfully the win wasn’t unclaimed for too long, after Ms Richards' daughter went to buy the tickets for the month ahead.

On Saturday, with Mrs Richards feeling unwell, her eldest daughter said she’d pop to the local store to buy the syndicate’s Lotto tickets for the month ahead, and check those in the tin.

Less then 10 minutes later, she was back looking very shocked.

The mum-of-four said, “When one of the codes matched I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Even though it’s called the Millionaire Raffle, I got my zeros muddled-up and was convinced it was a £100,000 win, so when the lady at Camelot confirmed it was a £1m win I was utterly gobsmacked!”

On Monday, she returned to work to tell her fellow syndicate members the news. Putting a copy of the ticket and a screen grab of the winning amount into 12 cards, the warehouse operative called everyone to a meeting.

Operations manager Sue Ivell, 64, said, “Once those cards were opened there were whoops of joy, screaming, a few tears and utter amazement at our £1m win. I just couldn’t believe it, in fact, I still can’t.

“I don’t have definite plans but I think I will be sharing my winnings with friends and family, plus we have horses so nice new winter rugs might be on the list for them, and maybe some blinds for the back bedroom!”

Mrs Richards plans to spend her share on a long dreamed of conservatory, while her fellow syndicate members, who range in age from 31 to 70, have their own plans including new homes, cars, and cleared debts.

One member of the syndicate has really splashed out, treating herself to a garden waste wheelie bin from the council.

Mrs Richards added: “While we always dreamt of a win I guess we never thought it could be this big. Sharing this money with the Misfits, and so close to Christmas, is a wonderful experience.

"To know that all the syndicate members can now make plans for a brighter future, whether it’s a deposit on a house or clearing some debts, the win will make all the difference to all of us.”