National Lottery winners keep Scotland beautiful

A team of National Lottery winners from across Scotland joined our team to carry out a litter pick on and around award-winning Troon Beach today.

The 20 winners, including two of Scotland’s largest publicity winners, Lesley and Fred Higgins, from Perthshire, who scooped £57.9M on EuroMillions in 2018, volunteered to spend a morning scouring the coastline for litter and tiny pieces of plastic waste which can be harmful to our environment.

The winners learned about the importance of keeping our beaches clean and safe for the well-being, not just of visitors to the beach, but also our wildlife.

The National Lottery winners, with a combined wealth of almost £100M, have been playing their role in helping to keep the Scottish coast pristine and litter free ahead of the school summer holidays.

The group focused their efforts on South Beach and came away with almost 30 sacks of rubbish, ranging from plastic bottles and caps, string, rope, fishing line, wet wipes and plastic toys to cans, paper, cigarette ends and an array of other plastics. 

Over a number of years we have received five grants worth £1.7M from The National Lottery. The most recent was given for the Highland Community Waste Partnership which we coordinate.

Barry Fisher, our CEO who joined winners on the beach, said: “It has been a very successful morning and we have really enjoyed working with the local National Lottery winners to help make a difference to this stretch of much-loved coastline. 

“Our charitable work aims to inspire behaviour change to improve our environment, the quality of people’s lives, their well-being and the places they love. By carrying out litter picks we help to keep Scotland just that little bit more beautiful for us all – and I would like to thank everyone for their support.”

Joining the clean-up team were Alison and John Doherty, from Renfrewshire, who won £14M in 2016. Alison said: “I have learned so much today about our coastline – it has been a truly wonderful experience working alongside Keep Scotland Beautiful.

“Myself and fellow winners support numerous charities throughout the year and it is always a great feeling to be doing something so worthwhile. 

“The coastline is close to my heart and Keep Scotland Beautiful has really made me think even further about all of the little things which we can all do to ensure we are all living in the best possible environments.”

EuroMillions winner Fred Higgins added: “I cannot believe some of the items which we have picked up. It really is quite unbelievable what can be washed up on our beautiful beaches.

“The beaches are here for everyone and it is just fabulous to get involved in such a worthwhile project which so many people will benefit from!”

Lotto winner Steve Glover said: “I moved to Scotland’s glorious highlands and the coast following my National Lottery win – which made this dream possible. It has been a privilege to take part in the litter pick today – I cannot believe some of the items which we have found. I have also learned so much from the charity too and even more things which we can all do to protect and enhance our local environment!”

By playing any National Lottery game, players generate £30M each week for National Lottery-funded projects. This money helps fund projects across the nation, with over 690,000 grants – supporting projects both big and small – having been made across the UK to date.