Twelve bank workers quit their jobs after discovering they had won the lottery, it has been reported.

The staff, at a branch of the Halifax, scooped �625,000 each in an office syndicate.

And, according to The Sun, they all walked out at the end of the day and have not returned.

A spokeswoman for the Halifax confirmed the winners were employees of the bank but said there would be no further statement.

She said: "It is a private thing for the individuals concerned."

Later, a second spokesman, Jason Clarke, told BBC News Online, the bank was "not prepared to confirm or deny anything".

Missed out

The syndicate won a total of �7.5m and is believed to be based at one of the bank's south London branches.

The Sun said it was four weeks before the group's lottery organiser realised they were winners.

They matched all six of the numbers drawn on 18 September, which were 4, 7, 12, 29, 37 and 42.

But, according to the newspaper, three unlucky colleagues were not part of the syndicate and missed out on the cash bonanza.

Daily draw

Camelot, which runs the lottery, confirmed the money had been claimed but would not comment further.

Last month, the company announced it was "looking closely" at introducing a daily Lotto draw.

A spokeswoman for the lottery operator told BBC News Online that a seven-days-a-week draw was one of the proposals which may be put to the National Lottery Commission.

It comes hot on the heels of a �28m revamp of the game which saw its name being changed from Lottery to Lotto - and an extensive advertising campaign fronted by Billy Connolly.