A woman who won a £2 million Lottery jackpot as a teenager has revealed how her life spiraled into drug addiction, depression and attempted suicides.
Callie Rogers, now 22, said she had hoped the money would help her put the troubles of a broken home behind her, but instead she said the money only brought her misery.
After winning the Jackpot at 16 Miss Rogers blew £250,000 on cocaine, tried to commit suicide three times, spent £11,500 on breast enhancements and lost custody of her two children.
Happy
Miss Rogers, now down to her last £100,000, says she has never been happier.
The former shop assistant, fostered as a teenager, said: “I am happier now I have blown my Lotto win.
In 2005, after a suicide attempt, she said: “Until you win such a large amount of money at such a young age, you don’t realise the pressures that come with it.”
Misery
Since the start of the National Lottery a number of jackpot winners have admitted misery because of their windfall.
Earlier this year one of Britain’s youngest lottery millionaires was found dead in his home where he lived as a recluse.
Stuart Donnelly, who was 17 when he won £2 million in 1997, had become a virtual recluse as he struggled to cope with his new found wealth – and the sudden death of his father in 2000.
Pressure
Mr Donnelly spent his winnings on many things including houses, one of which was for his mother, charitable donations to a hospital his brother was being treated at and an executive seat at Celtic Football Club.
But he reportedly struggled to deal with the pressure of winning the lottery, particularly at such a young age.
Michael Carroll, a former dustman, won £9.7million in 2002 but claimed it had made him miserable.
Stress
After he won the jackpot, his wife Sandra left him and took their baby daughter with her. Mr Carroll turned to cocaine, was jailed and was later served with two anti-social behaviour orders.
In 1999 Stephanie Powell won £7.2million, but her family life began to break down as a result.
Her partner Wayne Lawrence walked out on her, claiming the stress of her riches as his reason.
Research published in the summer warned that the lives of lottery winners could be cut short due to excessive alcohol-fuelled partying.
In 1999 Phil Kitchen, a jobless carpenter, won £1.8 million but two years later was found dead in his £500,000 home after drinking himself to death.