Lottery winner auctions signed shirt for Bradley Lowery charity

Lottery winner, Kenny Ashton, has announced he will be auctioning off a shirt signed by England striker Jermain Defoe, to raise money for the Bradley Lowery Foundation. It's a reminder that some lottery winners have used their wealth for real acts of kindness.

See also: The £1m lottery prizes about to be lost forever

See also: The lottery winners who beat the odds - twice

DJ Kenny, who won £1 million on a scratchcard last year, has already being DJing for children's parties, in support of the charity. Now he hopes to make even more for the foundation, which has been set up to support children suffering the same illness as the six-year-old who captured hearts around the world before losing his life to cancer.

The Sunderland shirt features the words 'Superhero Bradley Lowery', and the number one.

Incredible generosity from lottery winners

We're so used to stories of lottery winners wasting the cash that it's refreshing to hear of an act of kindness from a winner. There are, however, a huge number of lottery winners who have shown real generosity.

Here are five of the most impressive:

1. Tom Crist ($40 million)
In 2013 Tom picked up the jackpot in the Canadian lottery. He decided he didn't need the money, as he had been a wealthy CEO before retirement. He had already set up a charitable trust in honour of his wife Jan, who had died from cancer just two years earlier at the age of 33. So he gave every penny to the trust, to support cancer charities.

2. Chris and Colin Weir (£161 million)
The couple, from Largs in Scotland, wanted to do something meaningful with their EuroMillions win, so set up the Weir Trust, to support Scottish charities and groups. They initially funded it with £5 million - although they attracted more attention with their decision to give £3 million to the SNP and the Yes vote in the Scottish referendum.

3. Roy Cockrum ($259 million)
In 2014 Roy picked up an incredible sum in the Powerball lottery, and decided to give the vast majority to a huge list of charities reflecting the two great influences on his life - theatre and religion. He only kept enough cash to enable him to give up work and care for his parents. The Powerball lottery also awards $25,000 to the retailer who sells the winning ticket. They announced they would give their cash to local charities too.

4. Ray and Barbara Wragg (£7 million)
The couple won £7 million in 2000, and within 13 years had given away £5.5 million of it. The Wraggs gave the cash to a mixture of friends, family, charities and even total strangers in need. They said at the time that they didn't have much left to give away: just enough for their retirement.

5. Allen and Violet Large ($11.2 million)
The couple from Lower Truro, Nova Scotia, picked up the jackpot in 2010, and donated 98% of it all to the Red Cross, churches, fire departments, and the hospital where Violet had received treatment for cancer. Violet explained: "What you've never had, you never miss."