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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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Jane Lavender Associate Editor Sophie Law Advance Content Writer & Katie Williams

Scottish lottery winners hit by 'curse' and tragedy after bagging the jackpot

Winning the lottery can seem like an answer to many problems, but the life-changing cash prize has been "life ruining" for the so-called lucky winners.

Dubbed the lottery 'curse' has hit multiple winners, with new-found millionaires suffering everything from marriage breakdowns, to ending up penniless.

Now the the most recent case of tragedies is the sudden death of one of the UK's youngest ever lottery winners.

Callum Fitzpatrick was just 16 when he bagged £390,000 back in 2014 while studying for his A-Levels and working in his dad's shop, according to the Daily Record.

At just 23, he has suddenly died with his local football team Ballymartin GAC announcing the news. Member were "deeply shocked and saddened'".

No cause of death has been announced, The Mirror reports.

His family last week asked for donations to the Belfast-based Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self-harm (PIPS).

It is the latest in a line of heartbreaking tragedies which have impacted lottery winners.

Here's a look at the jackpot-winners from Scotland who have fallen foul of the curse of the jackpot.

Colin and Christine Weir

Colin and Christine Weir, from Largs, won the huge Euromillions £161million jackpot back in 2011.

They became Scotland's biggest ever Lotto winners and the former cameraman was quick to celebrate and splash the cash.

He took the opportunity to indulge in cars, jewellery and property and threw money into his favourite football club, Partick Thistle as well as donating large amounts to good causes.

He also shared his fortune with friends and charitable trusts, and passed on money to his two children with Christine – Carly, 32, and Jamie, 30.

Unfortunately Colin, who split from his wife of 38 years in summer 2019, tragically died from sepsis late last year.

By that time his fortune had shrunk by £40 million.

On top of luxury items, Colin had bought a 55 per cent stake in Partick Thistle a month before he died so he could donate the club to the fans and put its future in the hands of the local community.

He had suffered years of ill health and at the time of his death, Colin lived in a £1.1million five-bedroom seafront home in Ayr, which he bought in June 2018 after his marriage split.

Jane Park

At just 17, Jane Park was the UK's youngest Euromillions winner, raking in £1million.

She quit her £8-an-hour job as an admin temp but says life was easier before her big win.

Jane, who once offered to pay someone £60,000 a year to date her, has threatened to sue EuroMillions after claiming that her big win had "ruined her life".

She has also spent thousands on cosmetic surgery since her win, including a breast enhancement and Brazilian bum lift in Turkey.

But things didn't go to plan as the surgery took a turn for the worse ending up botched and Jane was left fearing for her life after contracting sepsis and having a severe reaction to the anaesthetic.

Jane Park on This Morning ITV (Photo by Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock) (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Jane has previously said: “At times it feels like winning the lottery has ruined my life.

"I thought it would make it 10 times better but it’s made it 10 times worse."

The young winner is said to be set to earn her second million on her own terms with her OnlyFans account.

Jane was hit by tragedy last week after her brother was stabbed with a Rambo-style knife outside a bar.

The Lotto winner saw her sibling, 23, lying bleeding outside a sports bar after the pair had watched last weekend’s Champions League final.

The Scot has been at his bedside in hospital since the attack near Oxford, where William lives. The night out was the first time they had met since lockdown.

John McGuinness

In 1997, John was working as a humble hospital porter when he won £10million.

At he time he was earning just £150 a week and was living with his parents.

Spending his new found fortune came naturally to John and he gifted £3million to his family, £750,000 to his ex-wife and loved buying spectacular cars and going on luxury holidays.

But his love for Livingstone Football club saw him lose everything.

John invested £4million into the club, which then went into administration.

Because John had used his riches as a guarantee against the club's loans, he was liable for all the debt.

He now lives as a virtual recluse and struggles to pay for food.

Michael Carroll

The 35-year-old Rangers' fan is possibly the most famous example of the 'curse' of the lottery.

Michael Carroll was known as the Lotto Lout after he blew his £10million fortune on flash cars and partying.

And now the 35-year-old is working for a coal merchants firms, chopping wood and lifting heavy bags of fuel every day.

He starts work at 6am and is paid £10 a hour - a far cry from his luxury lifestyle that saw him dubbed the 'King of Chavs'.

He was just 19 when he won £9.7million in 2002 but less than a decade later he had blown the lot.

He spent his new found lavish life on a new homes, parties, drugs, jewellery and fast cars and he even built an impressive racing track in the three acres of land surrounding his six-bedroom house in Norfolk.

But in 2010 he applied for his old job back as a bin man and later earned £11 an hour in a biscuit factory.

Now most recently, he is enjoying a more humble life at the fuel yard in Moray, Scotland.

He told The Sun: "My £10million vanished in just 10 years and I don’t have a home or a car to call my own. But I’m not bitter. Easy come, easy go.”

Carroll regularly works 12-hour shifts and credits the new job with with helping his weight drop from 22st to 17st.

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