Peterborough family who picked the same lottery numbers since 1994 win £1 million

A family lottery syndicate from Peterborough who have been picking the same numbers for 30 years have won a million pounds on the National Lottery. Credit: National Lottery
A family lottery syndicate from Peterborough who have been picking the same numbers for 30 years have won a million pounds on the National Lottery. Credit: National Lottery

A family that have been playing the same lottery numbers for the past 30 years have scooped £1m in the National Lottery.

The numbers 5, 9, 18, 32, 44, 58 and 34 are numbers that a mother and her three children from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire know well since forming a syndicate at a Christmas get-together in 1994 and picking the same numbers every week.

Audrey Cobb, 87, and her three children David Cobb, 67, Carol Nobbs, 55 and 60-year-old Sandra Digby have already started making plans for the money.

Syndicate leader Mr Cobb said he always believed the group would win after sticking with the same numbers for three decades.

He said: “We’ve had some small wins along the way but I was definitely the favourite big brother when I told my sisters I was giving them each £250,000.

Thirty years of picking the same lottery numbers paid off for a family in Peterborough this who scooped £1 million on the National Lottery. Credit: National Lottery

“It was an incredible moment, especially for my sister Carol who, after a tough few years, thought she would never have her own home again.”

Mr Cobb and his mother called his sisters on a group call to break the news.

He said: “Sandra was at the allotment and was so shocked by the news a fellow gardener had to pop over to make sure she didn’t faint, while Carol just burst into tears knowing that her housing woes were a thing of the past.”

While Ms Nobbs has already searched for, and found, her new home, Ms Digby plans to treat herself to a new car.

All smiles for the Cobb family from Peterborough who pocket £250,000 each after forming a family lottery syndicate in 1994 Credit: National Lottery

Mr Cobb and his mother are still undecided if there will be a big ticket item or extra treats, but for them making sure the family benefits is the priority.

Mr Cobb said: “I’ve always been the one to say we will win, I’ve never been in any doubt, so from that Christmas catch up when we jokingly set up the syndicate a few months after the first Lotto draw in November 1994, I’ve been waiting for this moment.

“To be able to share it with my family is the icing on the cake, and to see that it will help the wider family is the cherry on top.”

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