An unemployed couple bought a lottery ticket and won £50,000 – but just two years later they are asking for benefits again.

Jamie and Abbie Hort bought a ticket at Christmas 2014 and moved out into a nicer flat, fitting it out with new furniture like a big screen TV and treating themselves to designer clothes and holidays.

But within a year they had burned through the money, and now say that if they can’t claim income support and housing benefit again they will be evicted.

The couple admit they have been ‘silly’ with the winnings but say they ‘deserved to buy nice stuff’ and now need state help.

But officials are refusing to let them sign on again and they say they’ve had the ‘worst Christmas ever’.

All they have left to show for their winnings is a moderately large telly.

Jamie said: ‘When we first won the money, we were very excited and we helped sort our family out with some money and went shopping.

‘We had no other income source so the money was going on things like food. Sometimes we were spending £70 a day on food.

‘We were a bit silly with it, it could have lasted a lot longer, I’ll admit that. But all we want now is some help.’

The couple, from Guernsey, won £50,000 as second prize on the Channel Islands Christmas lottery.

Unemployed scaffolder Jamie, 29, admitted they had been ‘a bit silly’ with the money and are now living off handouts from his mum.

He added it had been the worst Christmas ever as they could only afford one present each for their children.

Jamie said: ‘Obviously we want to get back to work – I worked pretty much from the age of nine until I was 22 and 23.

‘I’ve been looking for jobs but with everything you have to be professional and qualified. Trying to get a job is like finding a needle in a haystack.’

A spokesman for Social Security said it was unable to comment on individual cases in the media.

Source: Metro