A syndicate of IT workers who call themselves the “Magnificent Seven” have each won £6.5 million as their share of the EuroMillions’ jackpot.

The workers, who are aged from 19 to 57, are employed by Hewlett Packard and have been working on a contract for BT in Liverpool.

Some thought they were going to be sacked when they received a phone call from John Walsh, who runs the syndicate. Instead, he was calling to tell them they had hit the jackpot. Their winning ticket shared the £91 million prize fund with a middle-aged couple from South Wales.

Several did not find out they had won a share of £45.5 million until they turned up for work on Monday.

“I didn’t quite get the response I expected because, with the economy in the state that it is in, everyone has been worried about jobs, so they all thought I was calling them to tell they had been made redundant,” said Mr Walsh. “Thankfully, I got to tell them some good news instead.”

Mr Walsh, 57, checked the lottery numbers at 3am on Sunday after having difficulty sleeping. He made a special journey to the office to check that the winning ticket was still in his desk drawer before breaking the news.

With Christmas coming the win could hardly have come at a better time for him. His wife was made redundant from her job at Woolworths and money has been tight.

The other winners were James Bennett, 28; Sean Connor, 32; Alex Parry, 19; Emma Cartwright, 23; Ceri Scullion, 35 and Donna Rhodes, 39.

Miss Parry left Wallasey School, Wirral, last year and now hopes to go to university, thanks to her windfall. She had to break the news to her sister Natasha, who works in the same office but was not part of the syndicate. She said: “She was happy for me but I think she was secretly a bit gutted when she found out the news. I have been saving up to buy a car so I think the first thing I will do is treat myself to a blue Vauxhall Corsa.”

Mr Bennett and his wife Vicky, who have two sons aged 6 and 6 months, are planning to buy a house after having always rented. He said: “We have already been searching on the internet and it is the most amazing feeling to be able to click the button that says ‘No maximum price’.”

Sean Connor is already planning a dream trip to South America. He said: “When I saw John was calling me on a Sunday I really feared the worst and thought it must be to tell me we had been made redundant. Instead, he told me we had won the lottery.”

Miss Cartwright said she had not slept or eaten since she found out the news. She said it could not have come at a better time as her father was made redundant earlier this year. Mrs Scullion was having her nails done when she got the news. She said: “The whole salon was jumping around celebrating with me. The salon owner called me up and asked if I wanted to buy her business from her. I think I’ll buy a nice holiday in Minorca and maybe a BMW.” She also plans to give a donation to the Alder Hey hospital.

Like her colleagues, Ms Rhodes, who lives with her partner David, 38, and their two teenage children, is planning to leave her job. She got the good news while attending a Remembrance Sunday parade. She said: “I started dancing down the street. I think everybody thought I had gone loopy.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Feeble wind farms fail to hit full power
• Students revolt as 150 are crammed into one tutorial
• Politics is off as Mumsnetters get raunchy