The drinks will be on the house for a landlady, her staff and pub regulars at Penally's Cross Inn, after they were served up a £68,896 Lotto win, just in time to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in real style.

The lucky members of the six-strong pub syndicate can now 'call time' on their money worries after pulling themselves five numbers plus the bonus ball in the Lotto draw which took place on Saturday, December 23.

Landlady, 51-year-old Christine Feenan, who started the syndicate when she took over the Cross Inn four years ago, scooped the prize money along with her partner Leslie Langford, and syndicate members Tim Mason and Andrea Evans, while two of the group opted not to take publicity. All six, though, celebrated their win with a meal at the Blue Ball Restaurant in Tenby.

Recalling the moment she realised they had won, Christine said: "At first we thought we just had five numbers, which would have meant we had won about £200 each, but when I checked again, I realised we had the bonus ball, too, meaning we were talking about thousands of pounds each. "I just couldn't believe it, we went from being happy to ecstatic. We kept the ticket in the safe at the pub until we could claim it, and it only started to sink in once the cheque was paid in," she explained.

The syndicate's winning ticket, which was made up of a regular choice of randomly selected numbers, was bought at the Co-op in Kilgetty.

Before the win, Christine had already planned a holiday with another of the syndicate members, Andrea, who works at the pub.

"We already had a holiday booked to Mexico, so we will definitely be spending some of the winnings there. Andrea has three children, and a granchild on the way, so she will be spoiling them too," added Christine.