BURNLEY lottery players have raised more than £1million for charity, buying lottery tickets from just one shop.

Elsie Holmes, of Welcome News, Briercliffe Road, is 'top of the lotts' after being revealed as one of the biggest providers to charity through lottery ticket sales.

Only last week she sold a winning ticket to a syndicate which scooped £1.3million.

Her store has been responsible for selling more than 4.5million tickets since the lottery was launched seven years ago placing her 26th in a national league table of big sellers unveiled by Camelot.

She sells around 12,000 lottery tickets and scratch cards a week with the average person buying more than one line.

Good causes that have benefited from lottery hand-outs include a refurbishment of Burnley FC's sports hall.

The biggest win from Elsie's shop was to 16 lucky workers at James Hargreaves plumbers merchants, Burnley who scooped £1.3million.

Elsie is joined in the league table of lottery big sellers by owners of Cryers News Centre in Todmorden which has also raised more than £1million.

Both shops feature in a league table of the top 100 retailers across the country who have raised the largest amounts for good causes during the past seven years.

Welcome News clocked up the most money in the area, raising £1,276,473.52 for charitable organisations and reaching 26th on the national table. Cryers is 42nd with £1,174,732.

Elsie was delighted to be in the top 100.

She said: "It is brilliant news for us because at least we know that we are helping to put something back into the community.

"People don't always realise just how much good the National Lottery has done for so many people. It is not just winners that benefit, people from all over the area also benefit from the money that has helped fund many different organisations "

Outside of London, the North West has received the highest amount of funding from the Lottery, with more than £1billion going to 8,200 projects in region.

Out of every pound that is spent on the lottery 28p goes to good causes.

Lottery funding in East Lancashire has benefited organisations ranging from funding the Burnley FC sports hall refurbishment, the Millennium Commission funding for New Era -- which was given £1.4 million grant for a multi-purpose adaptable community space -- in Accrington, Arts Council funding for Bojangles Street and Carnival Band in Blackburn for instruments and costumes, and the New Opportunities Fund for Blackburn with Darwen education and training department, used to extend summer school into the primary and special school sector.

Camelot chief executive Dianne Thompson said: "Many people are aware of the major projects, but few really know the genuine value of funding and the real difference it makes to the thousands of small initiatives and community-based projects in the North West.

"At Camelot we know players play to win whether for themselves or to share with their families and friends, but thanks to its success, the Lottery has enabled the whole region to win a jackpot in excess of £1billion."