TOO MUCH TOO SOON
Teen EuroMillions winner Jane Park says she was too YOUNG to win £1m at 17 and ‘didn’t understand’ how to spend it wisely
YOUNG Euromillions winner Jane Park is calling on Camelot to up the age of those allowed to buy a ticket - because she was "too young" at 17 to know what to do with the cash.
Jane, now 21, scooped £1million at the age of 17 after buying her first ever ticket, making her Britain’s youngest EuroMillions winner.
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But now she is calling on lotto bosses to increase the minimum age for buying a ticket as it has "ruined her life".
Speaking on ITV's This Morning on Friday, she said: "I think at 17 I was far too young, it is just such a young age. I was working in an office on £8 an hour before.
"Obviously at 17 I was young and I had people in front of me, financial advisers, but I didn’t understand what they were saying. I don’t think most people at 17 would."
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Since winning the £1m, Jane has splashed out on luxury cars, holidays, clothes and plastic surgery.
After Jane’s win she quit her £8-an-hour job as an admin temp, booked a two-month holiday in Magaluf, bought a chihuahua and also purchased a plush three-bedroom house and second property.
Revealing what it was like to scoop such a large amount of money so young, she told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford: "I did splash out a bit at the start but my family encouraged me by saying you should buy things you’ve always wanted to buy and do things you’ve always wanted to do.
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"I moved out when I bought a property but there came a time when I was so lonely, I had no-one. Obviously I had my family but I was just sitting there watching daytime TV and thought ‘this isn’t me’."
Quizzing her about her calls to change the minimum purchasing age, Eamonn asked what she was given by lotto bosses instead of alcohol as her "celebration drink" when she won, to which she revealed it was Scottish soft drink favourite Irn Bru.
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Eamonn said: "So you weren’t deemed old enough for alcohol but you can win £1million?"
Jane added: "At 17 you’re still in school or have just left school and at that stage in life you are still deciding what chapter is to come next.
"I have financial advisers who tell me when to sell and what to sell and where the money should go to make it work for me."
The 21-year-old then revealed she has no plans to go back to work any time soon to which the shocked presenter quipped: "We could all spend £1m this week it’s brilliant but it’s not for the rest of your life."
Jane added: "I’m quite optimistic, have always wanted to plan new things and I am excited now about the future.
"I am comfortable just now I don’t have to work but I’m not saying I never will work again.
"It’s about investing it wisely and keeping an eye on it.
"I can understand why people would think I was moaning.
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However in recent weeks the Euromillions winner has claimed scooping the £1m prize has "ruined her life".
Speaking to the , she said: “I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. "What is my purpose in life?”
"I thought it would make [my life] ten times better but it’s made it ten times worse.
"I wish I had no money most days.
"I say to myself, ‘My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won.’"
Jane was recently snapped shopping for a Mercedes, despite facing a drink-driving ban.
She was allegedly three times the legal limit when she drove her BMW 1 Series through a McDonald’s drive-thru in Edinburgh in October 2016.
Camelot insists it has offered “ongoing support” to Jane.
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A spokesman said: “We have been in touch with Jane from time to time since her win to offer ongoing support.
“It is always up to the winners as to whether they want to take up that support.”
Bosses at Camelot say they appointed an independent financial and legal panel to help Jane manage her winnings as well as putting her in touch with another winner who scooped a jackpot at the same age.
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