TV show charts downfall of city man who blew £3.5m lottery win

A FORMER lottery winner from Edinburgh who blew his windfall on 40 top-of-the-range cars and a £40,000 hotel bill is set to feature in a television documentary charting the dangers of a big win.

John Roberts, 34, who moved away from his home in West Pilton’s Crewe Road Gardens when he landed a 3.5 million jackpot win in 1998, is due to appear on ITV’s A Decade of Lottery Disasters.

Mr Roberts, who moved his wife and five children to a luxury Tudor mansion in Blackpool soon after his win, is now reportedly living in a caravan in Leeds.

Only days after his win, it emerged that police had issued two arrest warrants for Mr Roberts after he failed to pay fines for a series of motoring offences and had skipped two means inquiry hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

A spokeswoman for the programme today said: "Camelot has created 200 multi-millionaires and made many more rich beyond their wildest dreams. People were totally seduced by the promise of instant wealth, but ten years down the line, A Decade of Lottery Disasters reveals that there can be a damaging flipside to winning a fortune."

The programme will also feature winners who have refused to share their wealth with their families and people whose lives have been ruined by an addiction to scratch cards. It is to be screened next Tuesday night.