EuroMillions: Merthyr Tydfil college friends win £1m

Three friends who formed a National Lottery syndicate while at college have won a £1m EuroMillions prize.

Alex Gwynne, 28, Dan Phillips, 25 and Kyle Bowen, 25, from Merthyr Tydfil, started the syndicate six years ago while doing their apprenticeships.

Mr Gwynne bought tickets for the special draw on 3 February on behalf of the group, and said he was "stunned" when he checked the winning ticket.

The trio plan to set most of the money aside to plan for their future.

"The win really couldn't have come at a better time for all of us as we move into 'grown-up' life", said Mr Gwynne.

"We're all starting to settle down and make long-term plans for the future, a bit different to how we were when we set up the syndicate that's for sure."

The friends all have "good careers", he said, but will now be able to help family out and invest some of their winnings for the future.

The friends created the syndicate after a group in the year above them in college won £5,000 on The National Lottery, and their lecturer joked they should start their own.

They don't always take part in EuroMillions, but were prompted to enter the special draw by a friend's father.

Mr Gwynne said: "I went off to Cardiff and thought nothing more until the following morning when I was watching TV in bed, waiting for our little one to get up, and idly scrolling on my phone.

"I saw a 'news about your ticket' email and logged in only to see a win of £2.40.

"Feeling a bit disappointed that was all I'd won, I scrolled down to our syndicate tickets where my disappointment immediately stopped because I saw £1,000, then looked again and saw it was actually £1,000,000.

"I was stunned, to put it mildly."

Mr Gwynne said he celebrated by buying a new caravan for his young family so they can enjoy holidays in Llangrannog, Ceredigion.

Mr Bowen has invested his winnings for the longer term, while Mr Phillips has bought a new car and plans to book a holiday.