Edinburgh and Lothians lottery winners: The 14 biggest winners and how much they won, including Jane Park

Earlier this week, Edinburgh’s Jane Park appeared on the popular US chat show Dr Phil to discuss ‘The Curse of the Lottery’.

The 27-year-old from Niddrie, who became one of the youngest Brits ever to win the lottery in 2013, discussed the downside of winning such a huge amount at such a young age.

Host Dr Phil asked her about the abuse she received after her jackpot win, saying: “You had stalkers, death threats...” She replied: “I wish I'd never won it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.”

But Park is not the only lottery winner from Edinburgh and the Lothians. While some have shied away from the limelight, others have been only too happy to be seen splashing the cash.

Clockwise from top left, Jane Park with her millon pound check; Willie Sibbald cracks open the bubbly, Jane Park as she looks today after cosmetic surgery, the Hendrys with the winning cheque, and Paul and Louise Drake.

In 2014, we saw Willie Sibbald, a 48-year-old painter and decorator from Moredun, match all six numbers on his Lucky Dip ticket to bank £7,084,472.

Willie missed the moment his numbers came up as he had fallen asleep in front of the television. It was only later when he was watching Big Brother that he caught the winning line during an ad break and realised he was a multi-millionaire.

His first reaction was one of disbelief: “I was staying the night at my aunt’s house and when I saw the numbers I shouted through to her ‘I’ve won the Lottery!’. She came through and we checked the ticket again and again.

“My brother was on a night out so I waited until the following morning and called his wife to pass on the good news. She didn’t believe me at first and thought I was joking – it’s not exactly a call you expect on a Sunday morning!”

An Elvis-mad couple have scooped more than £4 million in the National Lottery in January 2015.

David and Donna Hendry, from Livingston, bagged a massive £4,078,509 in the Lotto triple rollover draw on Thursday morning, and announced plans to splash out on a pilgrimage to Graceland to pay tribute to their rock ‘n’ roll hero.

In 2016, a syndicate of six Hibs supporters from Edinburgh scooped an incredible £1m in the special Lotto Medal Draw.

The syndicate, made up of six retired friends – Douglas Gibson, William Mackie, Jim Robertson, David Hannan, David Hastie and Stewart McLaren – has been running since The National Lottery’s inception in 1994.

It is thought each member got £166,666.66.

In August 2021, Paul and Louise Drake, from West Lothian, scooped the £5,162,779 Lotto jackpot after Mr Drake checked his numbers the next morning before his shift as production operator with Lidl.

Speaking at the time, he said: “I’m not an emotional guy but I just burst into tears.

“I ran back into the house screaming and woke Louise up to tell her. We just couldn’t believe it.”

Just last year, an Edinburgh man instantly won £100K on the National Lottery,

The mystery winner, known only as Mr. C, secured the top prize by playing the ‘£100,000 Jackpot Red’ Instant Win Game.

He said he planned to buy a new car with his winnings.

In March 2022, another Edinburgh local, who also decided to remain anonymous, won a life-changing amount of money by playing the National Lottery.

The individual, known as Mr F, won £293,569.20 after matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the EuroMillions draw.

And then, of course, there is Edinburgh’s most famous lottery winner – the aforementioned Ms Park.

The tabloid favourite had been living in a small two-bed council house in Niddrie, and sharing a room with her sister, when she won a million after buying her first ever lucky dip ticket.

She worked in an office doing admin for a charity organisation, earning £8 an hour.

Park has since lived a luxury lifestyle, investing in cars, handbags, and cosmetic surgery.

But one procedure went horribly wrong. Jane said she thought she was going to die after a Brazilian bum lift she received in Turkey had disastrous results.

She reportedly set up an OnlyFans account where she shares topless photographs to paying fans.