Britain’s youngest Euromillions winner has blamed Camelot for the stress and worry it caused her after she won £1 million at 17. Jane Park, now 21, has called for the minimum age for the lottery to be raised to 18.
“The stress that comes with it isn’t what I should be worrying about at 21 years old,” she said. “The past three years haven’t been that enjoyable, and they should have been. People say ‘Just go buy something and make yourself feel better’, but that’s not always the answer. It can make you feel worse. My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won.”
Ms Park, who is due in court next month on a drink-driving charge, said that she regretted some of her extravagant purchases, such as a purple Range Rover, which she found drew too much attention.
When she won she had an office job and was living with her mother, Linda, on a council estate in Edinburgh. “My nana said when I first got the money, ‘You might as well have given her a gun.’ Now, I totally agree with her. She was saying you can’t give a 17-year-old that amount.”
It has been suggested that she would sue Camelot for awarding her the money at such a young age, but the lottery operator said that the age limit had been set by law, not by the operator. A spokeswoman said: “Jane received extensive support from Camelot . . . the door is always open and we will continue to support Jane in any way if that is what she wants.”
