Lottery winner who split £22m was found dead alone in Scottish flat

One of the UK’s biggest lottery winners was living alone in a modest flat when he died, it has been revealed.

Double-glazing salesman Paul Maddison shared a £22million jackpot with his friend within months of the 1994 National Lottery launch, reports the Daily Record.

It has now emerged that the millionaire, who bought a Scottish castle with his winnings, was living in a flat in Perthshire worth £165,000 when he died at the age of 73.

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And he ended up giving a huge slice of his fortune to the taxman after his death. Paul and pal Mark Gardiner hit the headlines in 1995 when they scooped a £22.6million jackpot.

Following the win, Paul moved more than 500 miles from Hastings in Sussex to Scotland, where he became increasingly reclusive.

Papers related to his will show Paul – who married four times – left his £3.8million fortune to Thelma Todd. She is the sister of his fourth wife, Evelyn, who died early last year. Todd lives near Paul’s Perthshire flat.

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However, a huge inheritance tax bill of £1.4million means the total value of the estate was just over £2.45million.

Legal documents, lodged at Perth Sheriff Court, show Paul owned four properties in the area worth £865,000 and had five bank accounts holding about £3million. He also left assets valued at £4685 by an auctioneer. It seems he hung on to properties as he downsized after once buying 16th-century castle Robgill Tower, near Dumfries, for £650,000. It was sold for a significant profit of £1.25million three years ago.

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Legal sources who examined the will said Paul’s daughters, Sasha and Stacey, who both live in Sussex – can each legally claim 25 per cent of any of the cash or possessions their father left. There is no mention of Paul’s son or previous wives in the bequest signed on February 10 last year.

At the time of his death, neighbours spoke of Paul’s frugal lifestyle. One said: “There was certainly no expensive car parked outside or any sign of wealth.”

Another said: “Paul was famously stingy. He was never first to the bar buying a round of drinks. If that happened, he’d be gone.”