A generous builder who won big on the EuroMillions lottery kindly donated £200,000 of his winnings to his local community.
Steve Thomson, from Selsey, West Sussex, won a £105million jackpot on the draw. Instead of keeping the prize money to himself, he announced that he would be using a portion of it to help look after his friends and the local community.
The dad-of-three gifted £50,000 to the school where two of his sons attend. He also donated another £50,000 to Selsey Medical Centre, with the money going towards funding for new equipment, so that locals do not have to travel further afield for their appointments.
He then gave £100,000 to his beloved cricket club in Selsey.
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David Dyson)A source said: "He's not the kind of guy who wants recognition for doing something good.
"When he won the jackpot, he said he would look after friends and the community. He's certainly stuck to his word."
It was a while before Steve began spending his winnings. Despite becoming richer than England football captain Harry Kane and Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood, he was still living in his three-bedroomed council house with his family until 2020.
Despite gifting large sums of money to his community, Steve purchased a second-hand VW van for himself, and bought a Volvo XC90 for his wife Lenka, nine months after winning the jackpot.
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Steve Reigate)Becoming a multimillionaire didn’t stop him from going to work every day either. The builder continued working over the Christmas period the year previous, promising his loyal customers that he would not go back on his word and finish jobs he had already started.
After realising he had won the jackpot, Steve said he was "on the verge of having a heart attack".
He said: "I started shaking a lot. I knew it was a really big win but didn't know what to do.
"I think I was on the verge of having a heart attack.
"Once I am over the shock I will need to keep doing something.
"I am not the type just to sit still. My business partner knows that if he needs a hand, I'll be there."
