Lotto flop loses £750,000 home
LOTTERY loser John McGuinness handed over the keys of his £750,000 mansion yesterday after a repossession battle with his bank.
McGuinness, 44, has faced eviction since being declared bankrupt last year. [>
[>
The former hospital porter owed Royal Bank of Scotland £2.1 million after blowing £10million on luxury cars, holidays and failed† investments. [>
[>
He was due to be kicked out of his home in March but was saved after a last minute legal appeal by wife Sandra. [>
[>
But yesterday lawyers for McGuinness and his wife said they had accepted they would† lose their six-bedroom home, in Larkhall, Lanarkshire.† [>
[>
It took Sheriff Shiona Waldron just a minute to give RBS the go-ahead for a sale. [>
[>
McGuinness has already moved to a £325,000 villa in nearby Carluke. He was†spotted dismantling a massive childrenís slide in his back garden as he prepared to move his family. [>
[>
After moving, he said: ìThis is a fresh start for me and my family. We have had our problems, but Sandra and I are delighted to be in our new home.î [>
[>
McGuinness became Scotlandís biggest lottery winner, in 1996, when he scooped his mammoth £10million jackpot. He had just split from his first wife, Hazel, and was sleeping on the floor of his parentsí council house in Shotts, Lanarkshire. [>
[>
But he splashed the cash on top-of-the-range cars, expensive holidays and several failed investments during a 10-year spending spree. McGuinness is said to be looking for work while ex-nurse Sandra plans to train as a hairdresser. [>