A BUS driver who was part of a EuroMillions lottery syndicate pulled out just six months before his colleagues won the jackpot.

The 12 members of staff at Stagecoach based in Corby won Friday night's draw for £38 million. But it emerged yesterday that, after three years playing the lottery, one member withdrew because their numbers had not come up.

He was replaced by another driver, who has ended up £3m richer.

The wife of one of the winners said it was the perfect retirement present for her husband. Penelope Gillion, 65, said her husband Charles, 64, who is from Corby and had worked for Stagecoach as a driver for five years, had planned to retire later this year.

Mrs Gillion, a retired cleaner, said the couple had been married for 45 years and the money would be spent on their family.

She said: "It won't faze us. The family comes first and there are lots of things to do."

She said the 12 winners had been taken away yesterday morning but would not disclose any details. "All I know is that it's the perfect retirement present. They all deserve it and all work long shifts."

She said reports that some of the winners had stopped work mid-shift were "rubbish".

Another member of the syndicate, Ally Spencer, said: "I'll never work again.

"This would have been my 20th year and I have loved it. But I won't be stepping on a bus again now."