It's a story that's out of the ordinary. Lara Griffiths, 54, was England's first online National Lottery winner. She hit the £1.8million jackpot almost 20 years ago. She was then living with her husband, Roger, and both were in their thirties at the time, and living in West Yorkshire.
The winner decided to testify and explained her money management after winning :
“At the time, there was no real common sense. I don't even remember talking to Roger about how to manage money. I just remember there was a lot of panic and nonsense“, she said. Lara and Roger had met at university and married in 1997. They won the lottery in October 2005, while she was working as a performing arts teacher and he was an IT manager, they were also parents to a daughter, Ruby, who was 22 months old.
A fire destroyed everything after they won the lottery
Once the money was earned, the couple blew it by resigning and going to famous countries such as Dubai, Florida and France. They also bought a beauty salon for £150,000 and moved into a converted barn for £450,000.
But in December 2010, their sumptuous new home caught fire : “We had a catastrophic fire. The whole place burned down while I was at work, but Roger, the two kids and the dogs were inside. It was a nightmare – we also lost all our belongings. We didn't even have clothes to wear. Our house burned for three days“, she explained.
The couple divorced after losing their house
The family stayed in hotels and with Lara's mother for the next eight months until their house was habitable again. Witness says cause of fire, which started in laundry room, was never determined despite ongoing investigation :
“No one was injured, but my daughter Kitty still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the fire“, she declared.
The family subsequently returned to live in full in July 2011, but Lara's suffering continued and her marriage to Roger ended a few months later. She says the next two years were “a real hell“ as she was trying to raise her two daughters while dealing with her divorce. When it was pronounced in December 2013, she explained that they no longer had any money.
