Husband's premonition of £2m lottery win

When Esther Doona's husband Lee handed her the phone last Saturday night he knew what her friend Mary was going to say...

For just a few days earlier the civil servant had a vivid dream that his wife and her colleagues had scooped a win on the National Lottery!

The dream was so real he even pictured the Sheffield pub where they were going to celebrate.

Although he got that bit wrong, the most important part - the 2million Lotto win - really did come true!

Esther, aged 23, and nine of her childminder colleagues cracked open the champagne yesterday at Westfield Community Primary School in Wesfield, to toast their 2,077,095 fortune.

The mum-of-two, from Halfway, who is expecting her third child in February, said: "At about 7pm while we were watching TV Lee told me he'd had a dream that week that Mary was going to ring me to say we had won some money on the lottery and to get down to The Queen's pub to celebrate.

"I dozed off and at 11 o'clock Mary rang. Lee came into the living room with the phone and said: 'I know what she's going to say'.

"I couldn't believe it when Mary said we had won."

The syndicate - made up of Kita Mortlake, 44, Karen Reaney, 50, Esther, Jeanette Lisle, 39, Joanne Major, 31, Mary Sayles, 50, Susan Pearson, 43, Lynda Booth, 56, Eleanor Jenkins, 59 and Claire Thomas, 37 - all met up at Mary's house and celebrated into the early hours.

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There were some sore heads the next day for the ladies, who work for the Mosborough Township Childminding Cooperative, and have been playing together for three years.

Syndicate organiser Kita from Halfway, said: "On Saturday night Mary called me to say that she thought we had won. She had a copy of our numbers and had seen the draw on TV. I checked again using the internet and Teletext and it was only when I actually confirmed the win that I finally believed we had won. Then I couldn't wait to spread the news."

Esther said the syndicate - which plans to continue playing the lottery - had won before but only between 60 and 90.

She and civil servant Lee now plan to spend some of their big win on a trip to see Morrissey perform in New York in October.

Esther said: "We wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise."

Other members of the syndicate are planning to spend their cash on treats for their kids, paying off mortgages, a trip to Centre Parcs and even a horse!

They will all stay at work apart from Esther who is taking time out to spend with her children and possibly go to university.

She said: "It has certainly given us a bit more freedom to buy our house and not worry about work so much.