Lottery winner who won £22 million and bought castle was found dead alone in flat

In 1995, Paul Maddison and his business partner Mark Gardiner won a £22.5 million jackpot from winning the lottery and split the winnings.

The pair ran a double-glazing business in Hastings, but Paul soon decided to move to Perth (the Scottish one) to live closer to his sister Annie.

Sadly for Paul, he was beset by some of the troubles that often plague lottery winners as they struggle to adapt to so much money, as his wife Ruth soon left him.

Paul would later hire Evelyn McGillivary as a cleaner for his new home in Scotland, and ended up marrying her in 1997.

It seemed as though he preferred to enjoy his lottery-based retirement in relative peace, keeping out of the limelight and living a quiet life.

Mark Gardiner (left) and Paul Maddison (right) won £22.5 million on a Lotto ticket in 1995. (PA)

That's not to say that he didn't make any lavish purchases with the money, as he did splash out £750,000 on the Dumfriesshire castle Robgill Tower.

According to the Daily Record, Paul decided to buy the castle when he and Evelyn drove past it in a camper van.

He eventually put his castle up for sale, and was found dead near the end of last year at the age of 73.

Maddison's wife Evelyn had died some months before, and the lottery winner was found dead in a Perthshire flat where he lived alone.

At the time, a Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service spokesperson said that a 73-year-old man had died in Perth on 28 November and that his family had been informed.

As for what happened to Gardiner, with his £11 million share of the lottery winnings he spent some of it on buying a home in Barbados, a couple of football clubs and houses for five friends.

Paul bought a Scottish castle with his winnings, though he later sold it on. (PA)

Sadly, he later revealed that he was no longer in contact with those friends and in 2005, a decade after his jackpot win, admitted there were days when he would 'curse my win'.

He told The Sun: "I spent £500,000 buying five friends houses when I won. Do you think they are still my friends? Like hell.

"Not one speaks to me. Having so much money has made me suspicious of people's intentions.

"It's horrible, but when someone's being nice then it does cross my mind what they are up to.”

He also got bombarded with letters from people asking him for money leading him to wonder if he might have been happier if he'd won a smaller jackpot, though he did still keep playing the lottery after his win.