Lottery winner back to school

The Belfast schoolgirl who has become a lottery millionairess has been warned she could become prey to gold diggers and fortune hunters. But Tracey Makin, who at 16 is the lottery's youngest winner, seems to be taking her good fortune in her stride, telling a press conference yesterday that she would have been happy with a pounds 53 win.

Psychologists have advised Tracey, now worth pounds 1,055,171, that she has become a big catch in the girlfriend stakes, at risk from cads hoping for a share of her new-found riches. For now though her thoughts seem to be on her family. She has promised her parents, Maeve and Jerome, a cruise and her elder brother Darren, 20, a new car. So far she has limited spending on herself to two CDs and said she had no further plans for her money other than going to watch her team Liverpool play at Anfield.

Tracey, from Glengormley on the outskirts of Belfast, thought at first that she had matched four correct numbers and was delighted with the pounds 53 prize. It was not until the following day that she went back to check the rest of her numbers and realised she had all six. She said: "I was happy enough with the pounds 53. I didn't really want a million. But I'm coming round to the idea now."

Word of Tracey's good fortune soon spread around Our Lady of Mercy school, where she is studying for seven GCSEs. But she managed to carry on studying, sitting a word processing exam on Tuesday.

Her mother said: "I don't know how she's managing to study for her exams, but she is and she is going to have to work hard for her exams in the summer, money or no money."

-- Rosa Prince