LOTTO luck has smiled again on Leigh.

Teachers Lee Johnson, 25, and Catherine Cheetham, 39, were in a school syndicate which scooped £1,579,211 in Saturday's National Lottery draw.

They were among 19 staff from Swinton St Mary's RC Primary School who won £83,116.37 each.

Catherine, from Pennington, joked: "I will be 40 in March and you just couldn't ask for a better present than that.

"I've been at the school for 13 years and there's no way I'm going to leave before my retirement."

And new teacher Lee, from Westleigh, who recently split up with his girlfriend after a six year relationship, could now be among Leigh's most eligible bachelors.

The 25-year-old was one of the last to find out about the win on Monday morning.

He joked: "I knew the headteacher had been trying to speak to me because of the messages on the answerphone.

"I didn't ring back because I'd been out playing football and I'd had a few pints so I wasn't the best for wear.

"When I found out about it we all just hugged each other. It was a fantastic feeling and although it's not the biggest Lottery win at least I'll be able to treat my parents."

The school syndicate is made up of 12 teachers, three classroom assistants, two office staff, a nursery nurse and the caretaker.

All have vowed to stay on at the school despite their huge win, the first time any of their weekly 11 lines has come up trumps.

Head Margaret Dolan said: "No-one wants to leave the school.

"There won't be any early retirements - we're all too young for that."

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