THE country's first lottery winner to end up behind bars has now found inner peace as a painter and decorator.
Lee Ryan scooped £6.5million on the Lotto in March 1995 – though at the time he was awaiting trial for handling stolen cars.
Later that same year he was jailed for 18 months, serving nine – earning himself the "Lotto Lag" nickname.
Lee, who later lost all the cash and ended up the streets described the big in as a "curse."
But he now calls himself as "a spiritual billionaire", the Mirror reports, while renovating an upmarket home in Chiswick, west London.
The Leicester man, who is now working as a labourer , said: "I'm the happiest I've ever been."
After Lee came out his prison to start spending some of his winnings on flash cars and other toys his life started to spiral out of control.
His new home was kitted out with a swimming pool, tennis court, sauna, Jacuzzi and games room – while he also bought two Ducati superbikes, a £125,000 plane and a £235,000 Bell JetRanger helicopter.
Yet he and Karen split in 2003 and he went on to lose £2million in failed business ventures and property investments, after moving to Kyrgyzstan in central Asia with new girlfriend Jyldyz Djangaracheva.
A housekeeper stole £40,00 from him, an arsonist targeted his £145,000 Ferrari and the 40-acre grounds of his former mansion saw a £15,000 caravan burned down.
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At one point he considered an armed robbery but decided to hand in his shotgun during an amnesty to avoid a return to prison.
Lee, now living in Twickenham in south-west London, said : "Apart from death you can’t get much more rock bottom than being homeless, so I tested myself and it’s all good.
"Sometimes even now I spend my nights in tents just to remind myself that I’m bomb-proof, I’ve gone through it all.
"Now I’m just looking for that middle ground where you still have to strive for what you want, rather than just having it handed to you."
The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778.
The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket-holder was £42million, won in 1996.
Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, pocketed £41million in November 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool.
The biggest jackpot ever for grabs was £66million in January last year, shared between two fortunate ticket-holders.
Meanwhile, Dukinfield near Manchester has been identified as the luckiest place in the UK to play the lottery.
The town landed the Millionaire Street prize in June handing residents £55,555 each – after the area also took a cut of a £3million Postcode Millions windfall five years ago.
Britain's biggest lottery winners include Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucestershire, who scooped £184million in a EuroMillions draw in May last year.
A previous winner who took home £170million remained anonymous.
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