text: Britain's most famous pools winner who pledged to 'spend, spend, spend' after winning more than £150,000 has died. Viv Nicholson, 79, became rich overnight when she scooped £152,319 in 1961 with her husband Keith. The win, on a football betting pool, in which gamblers predict the results of football games across a season, would be worth up to £5million in today's money. The pair, from Castleford, West Yorkshire, splurged the cash on flash cars, designer clothes, holidays and partying - frittering away half of their wealth within four years of winning. Scroll down for video . Viv Nicholson, 79, from West Yorkshire, who became rich overnight when she scooped £152,319 in 1961 with her husband Keith (pictured with Bruce Forsyth) has passed away following a lengthy battle with dementia . Mrs Nicholson (above) and her husband splurged the cash - worth about £5million today - on expensive cars, designer clothes, holidays and partying - frittering away at least half of their wealth within four years of winning . However, tragedy struck when Mr Nicholson died at the wheel of his blue Jaguar in 1965, which led to Mrs Nicholson being declared bankrupt, as the tax authorities reclaimed most of her husband's wealth. She managed to reclaim some of the money after a lengthy legal battle, but lost it all again from poor investments on the stock market. She later suffered a stroke in 2011, which her son said led to the onset of dementia, and moved into a care home. Her family confirmed she passed away yesterday following a long battle with the brain disease and requested for donations to be made to Dementia UK in her memory. In a statement released today, her son Howard said: 'We are saddened to announce the death of our much loved mum, Viv Nicholson. 'After suffering with dementia for five years, she died on April 11 at Pinderfields Hospital with her sons at her side. 'Viv was a one-off in all ways - a loving and loved mother, a glamorous great grandmother and a friend to many. Mrs Nicholson lived a fascinating lifestyle, staying true to her word by spending all of the money which she famously won when she was just 25-years-old. In 2007, she recalled the evening she realised she had won the huge sum of money. She said: 'We found out on Saturday evening that we'd won the pools, but we couldn't find the coupon. We weren't sure if we'd sent it off or not, but then the winning ticket turned up in Keith's trousers. 'It's unbelievable that I remember the exact amount we won so clearly - it was £152,300, 18 shillings and eight pence. Back then, even the eight pence meant something. 'I walked half a mile to the Post Office to send the telegram to the pools company. Within a couple of days, we were in London and famous.' Mrs Nicholson, 79, lived a fascinating lifestyle, staying true to her word by spending all of the money which she famously won on the pools in 1961. Pictured: Actress and singer Barbara Dickson with Mrs Nicholson in 1999 . Mrs Nicholson (pictured above) previously condemned people who criticised her for spending all of the money she won, saying it was her life and she 'won't be told how to live it'. Right: Newspaper coverage of her win . The couple found themselves being mobbed by reporters at Kings Cross station. Then the cheque was presented to them by Bruce Forsyth. Asked what she planned to do with it, Viv gleefully replied: 'Spend, spend, spend!' Back then, there was no network to support or advise big winners - possibly because hardly anyone had ever won that much. Having promised to spend, not save, the naive young couple retreated to Yorkshire and recklessly proceeded to do just that. They bought a large bungalow in a smart suburb a few miles down the road from where they grew up and she ordered dresses from Harrods, bought a pink Chevrolet and then swapped it for a different luxury car every six months. Keith, a former miner, bought a racehorse and the children were sent to boarding school. She said: 'We travelled all over the States and Europe.' However, the money soon started to dwindle and Mr Nicholson died when his car skidded off the A1 just four years after the big win. Following his death, Mrs Nicholson married four more times, but was widowed again and went on to battle with alcohol and depression. A short-lived attempt to start a new life in Malta was soon curtailed after she was deported for fighting with a police officer. In desperation she took to performing 'Big Spender' in a Manchester strip club, but was fired when she refused to take off her underwear. In 1984, The Smiths asked her to pose for the cover of their hit single Heaven Knows I'm Miserable now. Her story was turned into a televised BBC play and later a musical - both called Spend, Spend, Spend in honour of her catchphrase. The production even appeared on the West End, netting Mrs Nicholson £100,000 royalties . Mrs Nicholson (pictured outside the home she lived in when she won the pools) married four more times following the death of husband Keith. Her family have asked for donations to Dementia UK in her memory . Her story was turned into a televised BBC play and later a musical - both called Spend, Spend, Spend in honour of her catchphrase. The production premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds before a run at London's West End. Mrs Nicholson received royalties of around £100,000 from the musical, which were spent, and she revealed in an interview with the Mail in 2007 that she was living off of her state pension and seeking work. At the time, she said she couldn't help but spend her royalties or the money she received from her 1978 autobiography. 'I can't not do, I love to spend,' she said. She also criticised people who condemned her for splashing her cash and not investing it wisely. She said: 'People say I should be ashamed of what I spent my money on, and that I could have done so much more. 'But when I lost my last 20 grand on the stock market, I did not cry about it. I had a good whack and enjoyed what I did. 'It may have served me right - maybe I was wild and crazy. But it is my life and I won't be told how to live it.'
target: Viv Nicholson, 79, won more than £152,000 in 1961 with her husband Keith .
  She famously promised to 'spend, spend, spend' after big win on the pools .
  They splurged the cash on expensive cars, designer clothes and holidays .
  Mrs Nicholson has passed away at home, five years after dementia onset .