My brush with riches

£6.5M LOTTO LAG IS NOW PAINTER & DECORATOR | Lee spruces up posh homes after five years on the streets | He still does lottery and will help homeless if he wins again

- DAN WARBURTON

AFTER winning a £6.5million lottery jackpot in 1995, Lee Ryan bought a mansion with a pool, two Ducati superbikes, a plane, a helicopter and a fleet of fancy cars.

But his life unravelled and by 2010, he was broke, homeless, living on the streets, and calling his lottery win "a curse".

Now 63-year-old Lee is back on his feet, making a living as a decorator, painting posh homes like the one he used to own, and insisting: "I'm the happiest I've ever been."

He still plays the lottery and is confident he will win again, vowing to spend the cash helping the homeless. Lee said: "I believe in the law of attraction, so I think I will win again, but it won't mean any more to me than it did before.

"I know it sounds weird, but I don't need anything."

Lee, who spent five years living on the streets, said: "If I had my time again, I'd open a hotel for the homeless. Then you feel you've done something worthwhile."

Lee was known as the Lotto Lag because he was the first UK winner to end up in jail. He was unable to enjoy his windfall for nine months, while he served time for handling stolen cars.

He had prayed that he would become a millionaire while serving his first prison sentence in 1986.

And on March 11, 1995, just 17, weeks after the National Lottery began, he and his girlfriend Karen Taylor won £6,527,880 with his winning numbers - 2, 13, 22, 27, 29, 46 and Lee gave up his life of crime.

The couple, who were living with their three young children in a council house in Leicester, tried to keep the win secret, but told relatives and news got out.

Lee bought a Bentley, a Ferrari, a Porsche and a BMW with number plates LEE 1, LEE 2, LEE 3 and LEE 4. He bought a £1million mansion with a swimming pool, tennis court, sauna and Jacuzzi as well as the two Ducatis, £125,000 plane and £235,000 helicopter.