A LEADING church minister spoke out against the National Lottery yesterday (Wednesday) as thousands of Burnley and Pendle people bought tickets for the new midweek draw.

In an interview with the Citizen, the Rev Keith Richardson, superintendent of the Burnley Methodist circuit, described the lottery as a "fools' tax" and a "con".

Local charity workers also warned that donations to good causes, already hit by lottery-mania, could decline further.

Ticket shops reported a last-minute rush for the much-publicised "Wins-day" draw, introduced last night.

Mr Richardson said: "It seems to be the least well-off people who are spending the most money on tickets.

"People who have been using the same numbers every week will now feel extra pressure to enter the Wednesday draw.

"I am amazed at the sums that people are spending. I have seen people spending £13 in one go. I couldn't afford that much."

And he warned: "People are being conned into thinking that lots of lottery money goes to charity, when it is really something like 6p in the pound."

Ian Ainsworth, spokesman for Age Concern's Burnley office, said: "Age Concern, like many other charities, has seen a noticeable drop in income since the National Lottery started and we are concerned that there will be a further drop with the inception of the midweek lottery."

And Burnley's anti-poverty spokeswoman, Councillor Alice Thornber, said: "I worry about the amount of money going out of Burnley's economy, especially when not enough is being brought back."

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