EuroMillions: Corby bus drivers scoop £38m jackpot

A group of bus drivers from Northamptonshire are celebrating after winning Friday night's £38m EuroMillions jackpot.

The 12 Stagecoach employees had been considering ending their syndicate after two years without a win.

They had also been told shifts at their Corby depot could be cut back.

A spokesperson for the lottery confirmed that the prize had been claimed, but said it had no further details to release at this stage.

'Go to Memphis'

One of the winners, John Noakes, 49, said he had burst into tears as he told his wife Jean that he had won. He said he would not be going back to work.

Speaking to BBC News, he said: "I was walking up and down the living room talking to my friend who was on the phone going 'oh no, oh no', and Jean was obviously wondering what was going on, thinking it was a bad phone call.

"She was saying 'what, what' and I let her know, then I broke down in tears."

Mr Noakes said the drivers would not be returning to work.

He added: "I like doing what I do, don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I can't go driving a bus around when I've got an Aston Martin and I want to go to the race track.

"I want to go to Memphis, I want to marry my wife again."

The win has meant some extra work for John Drew, local manager at the Stagecoach depot in Corby, as he had to find some new drivers.

Mr Drew said he had to "sort out gaps" but added that it was a "happy issue" to deal with.

He said: "The 12 guys in question that won, well, I'm over the moon and ecstatic for each and every one of them and wish them luck with their good fortune."

He said the youngest was 34 and the oldest 64 and they had served between three and 20 years with the company.

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach said that services were continuing as normal for passengers and denied reports that one of the winners had walked out mid-shift.