Lottery winner who gave away half of £115m fortune ‘addicted’ to helping

Mrs Connolly has a history of charitable acts, she volunteered with St John Ambulance as a child and set up an Aids helpline while a student in Belfast.

She now backs local community groups which help people get jobs, support refugees and young carers, and provide electronic tablets for old people so they can connect with their families.

Mr Connolly still runs his plastic businesses.

Their biggest personal expenditure was a six-bedroom house in County Durham with seven acres of land, while Mr Connolly drives a second-hand Aston Martin.

But Mrs Connolly baulks at the idea of spending money on luxuries like yachts, saying reports of someone spending £25,000 on a bottle of champagne made her think the money could have helped a young person buy a house.

Asked by PA News why she was happy to give so much away, she said: “Why wouldn’t you? I’ve done that all my life.

“I’d have been a millionaire anyway if I took back all the money I’ve given away over the years.”

Mrs Connolly said winning a huge amount of money might change a person’s life but it does not alter their personality.

“If you’re stupid before you get it, you’re going to be stupid afterwards,” she said.

“If I had any advice for a winner… I’d say money liberates you to be the person that you want to be.”