UK's youngest lottery winner says she was 'exploited' after scooping up £1.8m at 16

The youngest lottery winner in the UK said she was 'exploited' by opportunists after her big win at the age of 16.

Callie Rogers became a millionaire overnight in 2003 after her lottery ticket came up trumps, seeing her scoop a whopping £1.8 million.

The then-teenager jacked in her job as a shop assistant in her local Co-op, where she was earning just £3.60 an hour, before going on quite the spending spree.

She spent half a million on homes for herself and her loved ones, as well as another £550,000 on clothes, tattoos and travelling.

Callie also spent a significant chunk of cash on a range of cosmetic surgeries, including £18,000 on boob jobs, while a further £250,000 was splurged on her cocaine habit, according to reports.

On top of that, the lottery winner from Workington, Cumbria, ended up thousands out of pocket after loaning friends and family money - which she claims they never repaid.

Callie, seen during an appearance on This Morning in 2018, became a millionaire when she was just 16 (ITV)

Within nine years, she had nothing left of her huge windfall and was forced to return to the workforce.

Callie got a job as a carer after returning to education and earned a modest £12,000 a year - an amount which she probably would have considered pocket change when her bank balance ballooned as a teenager.

In hindsight, the 38-year-old realises that a number of people took advantage of her generosity in wake of her huge lotto win.

She reckons that her peers thought she was a 'soft touch' and bled her dry because of her age - as let's have it right, the majority of us weren't that great at money management at the age of 16.

Reflecting on raking in the life-changing sum while she was still so young, Callie told the Mirror in 2019: "You are only a [sic]16, with all that responsibility. At that age, you can get the best advice ever.

"But you are not in a position to listen. I was too young. Overnight I went from carefree child to adult. I did not want that much money. At 16 you do not know what is ahead of you, because by God I did not expect any of that."

The mum said she never wanted 'that much money' (Facebook)

The mum-of-five explained she'd give handouts to 'distant relatives and friends of friends', which she claims she was never reimbursed for.

"I loaned £20,000 here, £13,000 there," Callie said. "I would never get it back. People asked for money for new cars and I would help out. I was a soft touch.

"Now I realise what they were like. I was exploited because of my age. I had a lot of fake relationships."

Even though it inevitably shaped her future, Callie said the lottery win wasn't actually a 'massive part of her life'.

"I was pleased to help all my family, but the money was never that important to me," she added. "Maybe because I never had any growing up."

Since Callie's win, the minimum age to purchase a National Lottery ticket was raised to 18 - meaning she will never lose her title as the youngest lottery winner in the UK.