pounds 5m WINNER'S STAYING PUT IN COUNCIL HOUSE

AN OAP Scots lottery winner who is sitting on a multi-million- pound fortune says he has no intention of spending any of it on himself.

Mega-rich Andy Strain, 69, scooped pounds 5.6million six months ago but has so far shunned the millionaire lifestyle.

Friends claim divorcee Andy, who still smokes roll-up cigarettes, has spent nothing on a new designer wardrobe and continues to wear the same threadbare rags he wore before hitting the jackpot.

And the pensioner has vowed to spend the rest of his days in his tiny terraced council house.

"Winning the money means I won't have to scrimp and save to pay the heating," said Andy. "But I'm too old to be splashing out fortunes on fancy things because I like my life the way it is.

"I only moved to this house a couple of years ago and it's big enough for me, so why would I want to move again?

"I've got great neighbours around here and my pals all stay in the area so moving is the last thing I want to do."

Neighbours say they are mystified as to why he appears to have spent hardly a penny of his huge win.

They say he has bought no furniture for his cramped one-bedroom house in Waterside, Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.

The multi-millionaire's social life revolves around his daily visits to the local Waterside Miners Social Club for a few pints with old pals and a puff of his favourite roll-ups.

He says his only extravagance has been a new Ford Focus worth pounds 15,000 and a new mono-block driveway to park it in.

He continues to maintain the garden of a local disabled woman and takes out her bins every week.

He still plays national newspaper bingo despite the fact that he has a fortune burning a hole in his pocket.

With over pounds 5million sitting in the bank, Andy earns pounds 224,000-a-year before tax in interest on his millions.

Yet the curtains, carpets and furnishings in his house have clearly seen better days and are in need of replacing.

But despite his wealth, Andy refuses to buy any new carpets or sofas to brighten his tiny, dull living-room.

His ageing coffee table is covered in the debris of his roll-up cigarette habit, and old newspapers and magazines litter his couch and floor.

Other than the social club, Andy whiles away the hours watching TV but he has so far not invested in a state-of-the-art plasma screen, relying instead on a 16-inch, 20-year-old TV for his viewing pleasure.

The only colour in the living room is in the several framed snaps of his sister's children whom he dotes on. The whole house is untouched by the wealth of its owner.

Moneybags Andy, who has no children, says that although he has spent virtually nothing on himself, his close family will not want for anything in the future.

A sister who lives nearby has been spotted with brand new car since his win.

His family is more important to him than money, says pensioner Andy, who adds that the only personal benefit he has gained from winning the lottery is that he does not have to save up his pension for powercards to pay to heat his modest home.

He said: "When I won the money it was a massive shock and it scared me stiff.

"It's only really been in the last couple of months that I've relaxed fully and started to enjoy the money, although I've not spent much yet."

Andy, a retired naval seaman, was divorced over 30 years ago with no children and he values the chance to look after his siblings' kids.

He said: "Now that I've got the money to do it, looking after my nieces and nephews is the best thing I can do with the money.

"I've been around the world with my job so I've no wish to go on a mad spending spree and go travelling. I've not spent much on myself and I don't plan to."

Locals in Waterside say that Andy hasn't changed at all since winning the cash and you would not know he had became wealthy overnight.

One local, who refused to be named, said she can't understand why Andy hasn't spent even a little money on clothes.

She said: "You would think that with all that money he would have spent a bit more on himself than he has now.

"He still wears the same dirty trousers and threadbare shirts that he always did when he was living off his pension.

"He obviously doesn't like change, but he's made no effort at all.

"He did a bit of work on his driveway but the inside of the house needs work done.

"No one around here has seen any furniture lorries or painter- decorator vans, even though the inside of the house hasn't been touched for years."

A local shopkeeper said: "I'd forgotten he'd won the money. Folk round here see him as just the same old Andy that he always was.

"He still helps a local deaf lady with her garden and he's always at her house every Thursday to take her bins out. He's not changed a bit."

A local woman, who refused to be named, said that there were rumours about how much he had given to his family but "no-one really knows how much he's spent".

She added: "It's rumoured he's given a few quid to his sister and brother-in-law - I saw his sister with a nice new car a couple of months back."

Friends at the social club say Andy won't be moving anywhere and the money hasn't changed anything about him or his routine.

One said: "He comes in most days about quarter-to-two but since we close at 2.30 he doesn't have much time to spend his money.

"He always buys his round and we often have to tell him to sit down as he's bought enough and to let someone else buy a round

"He's certainly has no big plans to move away from the area - hw knows he's got lots of friends here."

Copyright 2003 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.