13 December 2023 , 16:37
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The former business partner of a fellow Lotto winner who became a hermit before his death aged 73 has paid tribute - though says he 'lost touch years ago.
Eccentric Paul Maddison - who scooped half of a £22.5million jackpot in 1995 alongside friend and double glazing firm partner Mark Gardiner - is believed to have suffered a possible heart attack. He opted to live a quiet life, despite landing the fortune. Mr Gardiner said he lost touch with his pal around 20 years ago after he moved away and retire. The pair had run a business together in Hastings, East Sussex. He said he was "shocked and saddened" to hear of Mr Maddison's sudden death.
“He has gone too soon. He still had a huge amount to offer,” he said. Mr Gardiner explained his old business partner moved to Scotland to retire after the big win "to a different life". He went on: "He was a really nice guy and we got on well together.
“He could turn his hand to any job no matter how big or small and he was a lovely guy to work with. When we won the lottery he decided to retire. He's a bit older than me and he felt he'd done enough for Queen and country and wanted to try something different.
Paul Maddison became a hermit after his win, retiring in Scotland (No credit)“He moved up to Scotland to be near his sister and we lost touch but I still had a fondness for him as he was a good guy. It's a shame we lost touch but he'd moved on to a different life and just wanted to draw a line under it." Mr Gardiner, now 62, decided not to retire after sharing the lottery win and still runs Croft Glass in Hastings - the business he set up just a couple of years before he struck lucky.
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He said: “I'm still working, pressing on and going out every day for surveys and suchlike. I love the business and we are now the largest window glazing firm in the whole area. I'm proud I decided to carry on with the business and build it up. I was too young to retire. I would have got bored.
Mark with partner Brenda and Paul and his wife Ruth (Press Association)“I'm shocked by Paul's death. It's really come out of the blue. He was too young to go. I'm sure he still had a huge amount to offer. We enjoyed some great laughs around the office and out on jobs together and I can't say a bad word about him. He was a friend as well as a colleague."
He said the pair would put £50 on the lottery each week using the same numbers every time. “We were very lucky," he said. “We won after playing it for just a few weeks. Even after we won, Paul's wife at the time said paying £50 a week had been awful waste of money which is hilarious. I'm quite shocked by the news to be honest. It is unexpected. He wasn't that old. It's a real shame.”