EuroMillions: Lottery winners whose lives were ‘ruined’ by jackpot prize

For some lottery winners the dream can quickly turn into a nightmare

Michael Carroll, pictured, squandered a £10 million fortune on drugs, partying and fast cars

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They say you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning.

But for a small handful of people in the UK winning the lottery becomes a reality, not just a dream.

And one more Briton is in seventh heaven today after scooping this week’s mammoth EuroMillions jackpot.

The ticket holder, who has not yet been named, is in line for a £184 million payout - the country’s biggest-ever National Lottery prize - after their numbers came up on Tuesday night.

Some recipients of the big prize like to splash the cash, shelling out on expensive cars and properties. Others choose to donate huge sums to charity and help out family members.

But for a small minority of winners, the dream win turns out to be a nightmare.

Michael Carroll

Perhaps there is no one better than Michael Carroll to exemplify how quickly lottery winners can see their literal and figurative fortunes decline.

Aged just 19, he won £9.7million in 2002. But just a decade later Carroll, labelled “Lotto lout” by the tabloid press, had blown the lot.

In December 2020 he was working at a coal merchants firm, chopping wood and lifting heavy bags of fuel every day for £10 an hour after spending his fortune on drugs, parties, jewellery, fast cars and a lavish property in his home county of Norfolk complete with a race track.

Lottery winner Michael Carrol arrives at Swaffham Magistrates in Norfolk in March 2004

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Adrian and Gillian Bayford

Mr and Mrs Bayford won €190 million in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.

The couple bought a Grade-II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room.

But their relationship appears to have turned sour and they separated just over a year later.

Their plush mansion was sold in 2021, some years after they got divorced.

The Bayfords prepare to board a helicopter in Suffold following their huge win in 2012

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Callie Rogers

Callie Rogers became the UK’s youngest ever lottery winner when she scooped £1.9million in 2003, aged just 16, while living in foster care.

After winning big, Ms Rogers, of Cumbria, said she squandered huge sums of her jackpot on cosmetic surgery, make-up, tattoos and partying, as well as expensive cars and holidays.

She told ITV’s This Morning that the dramatic change to her lifestyle left her feeling depressed and suicidal.

Callie Rogers celebrates her win in 2003

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She has called for the minimum age required to play the lottery to be raised from 16 to 18.

She told the Mirror in 2019: "You are only a 16, with all that responsibility. At that age, you can get the best advice ever.

"But you are not in a position to listen. I was too young.

"I suffer from such bad anxiety when I am going to meet new people. It preys on my mind, what a new partner’s family will think of me, or even new friends.

"I still get abuse just because of who I am.”