​Former primary school teacher surprises friends and family after leaving more than £1m in her will to charity

Scottish charities are to benefit from the will of school teacher who was revealed as a millionaire after her death.

Former primary school teacher Margaret Dickson, 72, left the bulk of her £1.1 million fortune to help causes supporting cancer and heart disease.

She lived in a very nice but modest flat but certainly didn’t live an extravagant lifestyle

Described as frugal by friends, Dickson was an only child and had never shown signs of her wealth, although she was known to love travelling abroad.

Jean Brock, her cousin, said the fortune had surprised her and her husband Ian.

“We were appointed as executors so we got to see her will and we were shocked to see how much money she actually had.

“She lived in a very nice but modest flat but certainly didn’t live an extravagant lifestyle.

“She had three separate bank accounts each containing £100,000 and then the rest came from stocks and shares.”

She gave £250,000 each to Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Children’s charity Barnardo’s, the National Institute for the Blind and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute were each left £180,000.

Her flat was worth £72,500 and her personal belongings were worth just £2,000.

She had £63,000 of shares in Marks and Spencer, £62,000 of shares in British American Tobacco and £230,000 invested in government-backed National Savings and Investments products.