Why a jackpot might not mean joy for the teenage millionaires

Living with foster parents on a Cumbrian council estate when she discovered her 1.9m win, as news of the windfall sank in, the 16-year-old posed for pictures with her boyfriend and promised the money wouldn't change her.

"I will not go wild," she insisted. "I'm going to take some advice and see an accountant."

They were famous last words and ones which have frequently come back to haunt her.

Unable to cope with instant riches, Callie tried to escape depression through drugs. Her early dreams of going travelling before resitting her GCSEs and studying to be a social worker were soon in tatters and in an interview last year she admitted she had squandered most of her fortune. Just six years after she became a Camelot poster girl, there was just 20,000 left in

the bank.

It's the kind of cautionary tale that Holmfirth's Stacey Bywater will no doubt be aware of as she becomes the latest member of the lottery's teenage millionaires.

At yesterday's official presentation of the 1.1m cheque, the 18-year-old was the very picture of feet-on-the-ground common sense. Surrounded by her family, she talked of how she plans to keep on working as a nursery nurse and when she unveiled her wishlist, it was a modest one.

After helping her sister, recently made redundant, Stacey's priority is to buy a new house for her family, a soft-top Mini Cooper for herself and perhaps a holiday to Turkey.

However, ever since Castleford's Viv Nicholson won 152,000 on the football pools in 1961 and spent the lot, those struck by good luck know that money doesn't always bring happiness.

Once the initial euphoria wears off, many complain of feeling

rudderless, unworthy of their sudden riches and isolated from the friends and family they hoped would share in their fortune. For

teenagers, those problems can be even more acute.

At the start of this year, another teenage lottery winner, Stuart Donnelly, was found dead at his luxury home in Scotland. A post-mortem concluded the death of the 29-year-old, who 13 years earlier had scooped almost 2m, was the result of natural causes, but he had previously talked of the strain of winning the lottery at such a young age.

On the social networking site Bebo, the former trainee pharmacist admitted he was scared of socialising, listing as hobbies as "Sleeping,

watching TV, listening to music, surfing the net. Basically, anything that involves not leaving the house".

"A big win can leave people reeling in much the same way as a bereavement or other life-changing event," says psychologist Caroline Schuster-Cotterell. "It can be incredibly disruptive. The first thing is the shock at winning, people find themselves plunged into an unreal situation and it's the sheer speed at which their lives change which can lead people into trouble.

"As hard as they might try to maintain their old friendships, the money does tend to intrude. When someone is temporarily stunned following

a large win, their judgment is often clouded, which is why it's good to take some time out and let reality sink in.

"There's obviously a temptation to splash out and that's completely understandable, but people can end up regretting decisions made in the heat of the moment. That's true for everyone, but young people need even greater protection. When you become a millionaire at 18, it might seem that the rest of your life is sorted, but it can so easily unravel."

Inevitably, it's the stories of rags to riches and back to rags that make more of an impact, but there is no such thing as a lottery curse and many do manage to enjoy their winnings.

"We do have to trust young people to make sensible decisions and it's not helpful to assume the first thing they will do is blow the whole lot on drink and drugs," adds Dr Schuster-Cotterell.

"The old adage that relationships are more important than stuff remains true and it's really important for young lottery winners to carry on with whatever plans they had before, whether that's continuing with education or training for a specific job. Work does provide a structure to our lives and it also helps people stay grounded.

"It would also be worth thinking about setting up a trust fund, whereby the money is released over a longer period of time. It might help ease the burden of what to do with hundreds of thousands of pounds and

removes the temptation to keep on spending.

"I would also consider donating some of the win to charity. Research has shown that people who are philanthropic are generally much happier than people who aren't and when you have a million pounds in the bank it's possible to do a lot of good.

"However, the most important advice is to have fun. Yes, there are lots of decisions to made and it will take time to get used to a new life, but winning the lottery doesn't happen to everyone and the money is there to be enjoyed."

Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 2,400 new millionaires have gone public and all big winners are offered advice on what to do with their new-found fortune.

"From the moment someone comes forward with a big winning ticket, our team are there to offer support," says a Camelot spokesman. "We

discuss with them whether they want to remain anonymous and we talk through the possibility of putting their money into a private bank.

"All advice is tailored to the age and background of the winner and Stacey will have access to an independent financial and legal panel, who will go through everything from making a will to the tax

implications of gifting.

"Obviously, winning 1.1m at the age of 18 is very different to winning it at 65. We want people to enjoy their windfall for as long as

possible and it can be daunting knowing exactly what to do.

"Winners are in touch with us for as long as they want to be and we can also introduce them to other winners of a similar age who have decided to go public.

"Sometimes it does help to share experiences and certainly when you're young and suddenly find yourself an overnight millionaire, it can be good to talk to someone who knows exactly how you feel."

Lisa Dougan is one of those past winners who Stacey may well be put in touch with. Just 17 and working part-time in Tesco for 4.95 an hour when she won 1.6m in March 2004, her story is a welcome antidote to the usual had it all, blew it all headline grabbers.

Having been bullied at school, Lisa, who toasted her win with Irn-Bru, hoped the money would buy her a passport to the life she had always dreamed of.

Today, she owns her own house in West Lothian, has two children with husband Bryan and over the last six years has grown into her new-found wealth. While she left her job at the supermarket the day she won, Lisa now runs after-school clubs and projects for children and, aside from buying a brand new bright pink Peugeot 206 convertible, rash spending has been kept to a minimum.

"Winning the lottery has been an amazing experience," says Lisa. "The win helped secure my future and has opened up so many opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise. Your family keep your feet on the ground and it sounds like Stacey has a close knit family to support her. My advice would be to not rush into anything and take your time – make the most of the advice and support available and you'll be able to enjoy your win for many years to come."