'Lotto lag' blew £6.5million jackpot on cars and mansion - now lives in tiny flat with homeless friends

CREDITS: MIRROR

'Lotto lag' Lee Ryan won £6.5million in 1995 - but now lives in a tiny flat with homeless pals.

He was one of the first winners of the National Lottery jackpot almost two decades ago.

And Ryan made headlines when it emerged he was accused of handling stolen cars.

He was jailed for 18 months just weeks after his huge payout.

Ryan then spent a decade living the high life, buying a series of luxury cars, a helicopter and a £2million mansion.

But Ryan, now 54, ended up penniless following a series of misfortunes.

After two years living on the street, he now has a tiny flat in London which he shares with homeless pals he has invited in.

He recounted, "The money was cursed because I took the p**s out of God when I asked him to make me a multimillionaire. My cellmate warned me to be careful what I wished for."

But Ryan said far from feeling sorry for himself, life has improved since he lost his fortune.

He added: "I'm not ashamed of the fact I was homeless. I was at my happiest. I just let life happen and I met some fantastic people."

Ryan and then-girlfriend Karen Taylor won the National Lottery just 17 weeks after it was launched.

At that time, they were living in a council house in Leicester.

Ryan appeared to make all his dreams come true, marrying Karen and buying a fleet of supercars and bikes.

But he says a series of disastrous business ventures and mishaps emptied his bank account.

A housekeeper stole £40,000, an arsonist set fire to his Ferrari and he was forced to hire a former SAS-soldier for security after hearing of a plot to kidnap one of his children and extort him for money.

Ryan split with Karen after eight years and moved to London where he met a 25-year-old from Kyrgyzstan.

They took an ill-fated trip to the Central Asian country where Ryan attempted to invest the last of his winnings in property.

But he returned empty-handed, claiming to have been stitched up by investors following the Kyrgyzstan revolution in 2010. ...Mirror