AN ARMY of lottery winners donned steel toecapped boots and volunteered for a day of hard graft to support a veterans charity.

With a combined wealth of £146 million, the team of 21 winners - including some army and navy veterans, volunteered for Veterans’ Growth in Hastings, which provides horticultural therapy for those suffering with mental health conditions.

The millionaire workforce got stuck in building a wheelchair-accessible path, a cold frame, potting up seedlings which will be on display at an exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show, and installing a new fence to keep out a herd of marauding cattle who had escaped to get a closer look and taste of the charity’s garden.

Joining the team was Paul Mcdonald, who won over £1 million in December last year.

The Argus: Paul Mcdonald on cold frame constriction duty with his partner Erika KeszthelyiPaul Mcdonald on cold frame constriction duty with his partner Erika Keszthelyi

Paul, 48, from Bexhill, said: “I’ve previously done voluntary work and I’ve also raised money for veterans. I’ve also had members of the family who have been in the services, so when we got the invitation, it was impossible to say no.

“It’s also great to be around other people who’ve experienced a miracle.”

Jason Stevens, founder of Veterans’ Growth and veteran of 16 years in the army, knows first hand the benefits of horticultural therapy in improving mental health.

He said: “When I was medically discharged from the army, horticulture was my saviour and this motivated me to set up the charity.

“So much of what we do is making sure that the recipients of our services know someone cares, that they don’t feel isolated, that they can gain confidence, knowledge and experience in a supportive environment.

“The next veterans who come to us won’t necessarily know that a workforce worth £146 million laid the wheelchair-accessible path or built the cold frame they will use for potting on, but we will always remember this day and will remain touched at the winners’ hard work, good humour and that they gave up their time in this way.”

Lottery players generate more than £30 million each week for a range of projects and charities, with over £45 billion raised and distributed to National Lottery ‘Good Causes’ through more than 660,000 individual grants.