£5.4m Lotto winner misses deadline

Thursday, March 09, 2006 posted 03:36 PM EST

A lottery jackpot winner has missed out on their chance to claim winnings of £5.4m, lottery organisers have said.

The winning ticket was bought for the draw on Saturday September 10 last year from somewhere in North Lanarkshire. The ticket-holder had until 5.30pm to claim their prize.

The money, which is second largest unclaimed prize in the lottery's 11-year history, will now be given away to Good Causes. he winning numbers that night were 1, 8, 24, 27, 34 and 46.

A National Lottery spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, I can confirm that the ticket-holder did not come forward within the deadline to claim their prize and has now sadly missed out on this substantial amount of money.

"To avoid this unfortunate situation happening again, I would urge all National Lottery players to check their tickets on a regular basis.

"We tried very hard to find the ticket-holder and it's a real shame that they have missed out, but there is still one winner - the nation.

"This money will now go to the Good Causes, adding to the £18 billion which, over the last 11 years, has funded the biggest programme of civic regeneration seen in the UK since the 19th century.

"Players concerned about lost or unchecked tickets, may want to think about playing on the internet or by mobile phone in future. This way, they are informed of any wins electronically so will never miss out on a prize again."

All players have 180 days from the date of a draw to claim their prizes.

The unclaimed prize from the North Lanarkshire area will be added to the £18 billion that has already been raised for the Good Causes through National Lottery ticket sales since launch in November 2004.

The biggest unclaimed prize in the UK to date - which went to Good Causes - was a £9m winning ticket bought in Doncaster.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved.

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