Lucky lottery winners in Shropshire have scooped tens of millions from an incredible £908,722,933 West Midlands jackpot since the competition was launched in 1994.

The biggest winners were Louise and Keith Gough, of Bridgnorth, who scooped £9,001,406 in June 2005. And the biggest syndicate winner was the Palethorpes Pie Factory Syndicate, in Market Drayton, which netted £6,750,278.40 back in November 2006.

That worked out at £204,553.89 each for the syndicate’s 33 members.

There have been 27 publicly-named winners who have received in excess of £50,000 since the lottery was launched in November 1994.

There are believed to have been many more besides, who have refused to go public on their good fortune.

Julian Fisher, spokesman for the National Lottery, said the remarkable thing about Shropshire winners was that they always collected their prizes. He said: “In other parts of the country, prizes can go unclaimed for a variety of reasons. However, our data shows that in Shropshire, people always follow through and claim their winnings.”

Mr Fisher added the National Lottery retained statistics for the entire West Midlands, which includes Shropshire, Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Hereford, Stoke-on-Trent, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester. He said: “The West Midlands area has received £908,722,933 in top tier prizes and more than 466 millionaires have been created in the region since the lottery began.”

While the National Lottery does not reveal the shops and other outlets that are the luckiest, it does reveal the shops that sell the most tickets.In 2005, a Ludlow newsagents scooped a national award after selling 10,000 lottery tickets a week. Yeo’s, in Tower Street, picked up the coveted Independent Lottery Retailer of the Year award from the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.

Mr Fisher said: “There have been 27 publicity winners over £50,000 in Shropshire since November 1994, when the lottery started.

“Big winners include, most recently, David and Marina Williams, of Telford, who won £968,792 in September 2008.

“In June 2005, Louise and Keith Gough, of Bridgnorth, won £9,001,406, which was the biggest single public ticket win in the county. In November 2006, Palethorpes Pie Factory Syndicate won £6,750,278.40, which was the largest syndicate win in the county.”