Lottery winner quizzed in theft inquiry

A millionaire Lottery winner has been arrested for allegedly stealing paving stones from a former neighbour, police said yesterday.

Ken Pattison, who scooped a pounds 1.2m jackpot in September 1995, was arrested by South Yorkshire police on Tuesday night and questioned about alleged thefts from run-down houses in Dalton, Rotherham, where his old house is being bulldozed as part of a regeneration scheme. He was not charged and was released on bail while inquiries continue.

Mr Pattison, 44, who now lives in a pounds 64,000 detached house in the same area, said: "It is all a load of rubbish. I know I am innocent, but there are a lot of people jealous of me." He and his wife have refused to succumb to the trappings of wealth and have a modest lifestyle. Their first holiday abroad together - in Spain - was won in a raffle after the Lottery win.