A SYNDICATE of shop workers were today celebrating an early Christmas after scooping £1.5m on the National Lottery.

But the 17 lucky shop workers, who all work at a branch of newsagent Forbuoys, in Hartlepool, nearly did not win at all.

They forgot their usual five lucky dip lines for last Saturday's draw and instead had a flutter on Wednesday - and their forgetfulness came up trumps as they landed all six numbers.

Two syndicate members, Ingrid Bryan and Susan Spence, had only joined the day before the jackpot win.

Syndicate member and shop manager Paul O'Donovan said: ''We always buy five lucky dips for every Saturday draw, but we forgot, so we decided to try our luck in Wednesday's draw instead.''

On Thursday morning, Mr O'Donovan checked their tickets on the National Lottery terminal in the newsagents and could not believe the message that came up.

''I phoned the hotline to check the amount and I knew it was a big win, but I just couldn't believe our luck that we had won £1.5m,'' he said.

''Who would have thought that forgetting to put our lines on originally could have led to such amazing good luck?''

The syndicate consists of 17 past and present members of staff at the newsagents, in Owton Manor Lane.

Each Saturday since the National Lottery launched more than ten years ago, they have bought five lines.

The syndicate's dreams came true when the numbers 11, 12, 16, 26, 35 and 39 came up. They won £1,556,980, which means each member gets £91,587.

Mother-of-three Mrs Spence, who only joined the syndicate on Tuesday, said: ''The win was really shocking, unbelievable - we just can't believe it. When I realised we had won, I was gobsmacked.

''I am going to pay off the mortgage, have a wonderful Christmas and, in the New Year, book a holiday somewhere in the sun.''

Fellow new syndicate member Mrs Bryan said: ''It was our first £1. Some say we were the lucky charms, but it could just have been the luck of the draw.''

Other members of the syndicate include Margaret Dodsworth, Sheila Walker, Annette Howell, Pat Buglass, Rita Liddle, Pat Boagey, Maureen Calvert and Pauline Jones.