Lottery prize stuns youngest winner
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Your support makes all the difference.The youngest-ever National Lottery jackpot winner yesterday admitted that he "needs a few days" to let his new-found millionaire status sink in.
And the only ambition football fan Stuart Donnelly, 17, of Neilston, Renfrewshire, could think of fulfilling with his pounds 1,923,077 share was acquiring a seat in Celtic's directors' box at Parkhead, Glasgow.
While his delighted parents, May and Danny, celebrated yesterday with champagne, Stuart, (pictured above), had to stick to soft drinks because of his age.
Nervously facing reporters at Camelot's Glasgow headquarters, Stuart, a trainee pharmacist, admitted that he has no idea what to do with his share of the pounds 25m bumper anniversary draw. "It's not really started to sink in, I'm going to go away for a few days to get it sorted out in my head first," he said.
When asked if he was not a little disappointed that he had to share the cash with 12 others, he said: "I'm happy with what I've got - the money's in the bank just now, and I can live off the interest."
Stuart, who lives with his father Danny, plays the lottery regularly and said he had spent pounds 5 on tickets because of the big jackpot. Reliving the magical moment when he struck it lucky, Stuart said: "I was writing down the numbers as they came out. I was quite happy with three numbers, then four, then five. When the last number 39 came out I shouted `jackpot', and my Dad jumped on me."
But Stuart has yet to decide if he will continue with his training at Neilston Pharmacy, and his studies at Stow College. He plans to take care of his family, and pledged to pay for medical care if his brother Shaun, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, needs it.
Danny, 42, said of his son: "He is a very caring, down-to-earth boy, very quiet. Hopefully this will not change him."
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