Scots grandad who blew £80k Lotto win in two weeks desperate to get back on benefits

A Scots disabled grandad who was plunged into poverty after spending his £80,000 lotto win in two weeks says he is desperate for benefits after the Government cut off his supply.

Daniel Millar, from Motherwell, hit the jackpot in September 2017 but said the win descended into a nightmare after the DWP halted his benefits, claiming he "didn't know" he had to declare the winnings.

The former security worker has long-term health problems, with his wife Bridget his full-time carer. Daniel splurged his winnings over a luxury fortnight which included a cruise, holidays, house renovations and handouts to family, friends and neighbours.

However we previously reported, how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stopped his payments and benefits after they discovered his change in fortune.

And Daniel said he no longer qualified for housing benefit, income tax, council tax reduction or any other means-tested handouts.

Daniel told the Record that he didn't know he had to tell DWP and said he was left living in poverty.

After cuts were made, Daniel's pension crashed to just £1.08 per week and he was left with just a personal independence payment of £350 per month. He said: “It’s a nightmare. I don’t know what I can do and I don't know where to turn.

"I didn’t know I had to tell the Department for Work and Pensions, so I spent it all by giving it to my two sons and my daughter, paid two family holidays, did up my house and bought clothes for me and my wife.

“The money was all spent by November. In December, I got a letter from the DWP saying I had to go to an appointment. They then told me I had been reported by the tax office for having £80,000 in my bank. That was true in September but not when I went for the interview. I was £7 overdrawn. Now they have stopped my benefit.

"The only income I have is my personal independence payment of £350 per month and a pension of £1.08 per week. I have to pay full rent and council tax so we have little left to live on. My wife, who is my carer, gets £62 a week. She has to put that aside to pay other bills like gas, electric and phone.”

His wife Bridget previously said that the couple were punished for getting a bit of luck, with the DWP telling them they weren't "entitled to any money."

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