A lucky Brit who won a quarter of a million pounds on the lottery has been jailed for failing to pay a £12,000 court debt.
Gerry Donaldson, 52, struck gold when he nabbed the £250,000 prize but seemingly appeared to blow it all.
The lotto winner has since been convicted of growing cannabis and an initial confiscation order of £11,750 was levelled back in 2018.
But four years on, the figure has been raised to £12,335 with interest, according to a hearing at Jedburgh Sheriff Court in Scotland last week.
Donaldson, who won big on a scratch card back in 2010, was heard to have been on a fast decline since pocketing the prize.
Prosecutor Fiona Hamilton said: "He won a significant amount on the lottery some time ago but there are no details on where this has gone."
Investigators found the grandfather had received £36,000 for the sale of his home in March 2021, Ms Hamilton explained.
The court heard that his only asset was a car, with Ms Hamilton questioning where the cash prize Donaldson won over a decade ago has ended up.
She was not the only one stunned by the lack of lotto winnings on Donaldson's person, reports the Daily Star.
A former neighbour said: "It does seem incredible how someone can go through so much money from a lottery period in such a short period.
"He had his kids to look after which is fair enough but to have nothing left from getting such a huge sum and now being sent to jail is such a downturn.
"He still has to pay back the money as well - it shows that winning the lottery doesn't solve all your problems."
Sheriff Peter Paterson has since jailed Donaldson, of Borders, Scotland, who is facing jail time following a cannabis growing charge.
The sheriff added that the full amount of debt owed would be sought after despite the prison sentence.
