IT was a truly unforgettable Christmas for as 14-strong group from a Redditch company when they scooped

£1 million on a National Lottery Monopoly Scratchcard.

The syndicate, whose members all work at fashion distributor Motel Rocks, were certainly Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree after realising they had scooped £71,428.57 each, but it could have been so different if it were not for the syndicate leader’s eager eye.

Syndicate leader and Motel Rocks credit controller Caroline O’Meara said: "The syndicate is new, it only started in February 2013, but we’ve been successful and had £270 in the kitty.

"I suggested that we spend £100 on buying tickets for the Christmas Eve EuroMillions draw and £100 on tickets for the New Year’s Eve EuroMillions draw. That left £70 and being as there are 14 of us in the syndicate we could have a £5 Scratchcard each.”

The syndicate agreed and Mrs O'Meara, aged 53, from Bromsgrove bought the Scratchcards and asked some of the group to start scratching after the company’s Secret Santa party had finished.

She asked for all 14 cards to be placed on her desk for her to check them.

“I went through the 13 and nothing and then came to the 14th and I noticed only part of the Scratchcard had been revealed.

So I found a coin and scratched the final part of the three sections and it said I had matched the symbols and won £1 million.”

She continued: “I asked some of my colleagues to check and after we had realised what we had won everyone just started to scream and jump up and down.”

Mrs O'Meara is married with two daughters and plans to use the win to treat the family. Other members of the syndicate are still in shock and are deciding what to do with their pre-Christmas windfall. Holidays, cars and home renovations have been mentioned.

The winning National Lottery Monopoly Scratchcard was bought at the Co-Op on Stoke Road in Bromsgrove. The syndicate won £1m after matching two symbols on Game Three on the Scratchcard.