ONE UNLUCKY lottery winner has missed out on their prize of more than £50,000 by not claiming it in time.
The operators of The National Lottery, Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, announced yesterday (Tuesday) that no one had come forward with the winning ticket for the £51,678 prize draw on September 17 last year.
There was a 180 day deadline for them to claim and so the money has now been given to National Lottery charities.
Camelot UK tried to track down the owner of the winning ticket right up until the time ran out on Monday (March 16) at midnight but all they knew was the ticket was bought in the Wychavon District.
The money along with the interest it earned has now gone to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK. Players raise on average, more than £33million every week for these causes.
Donations are made across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.
Examples include £7,500 given to The South Worcestershire Lifesaving and Lifeguard Club which helped recruit and train a flood and rescue unit to serve the local area, and £8,626 was given to Worcestershire Wildlife Trust to upgrade the pathways in the gardens and to install raised beds for wheelchair users.
A National Lottery spokesman 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, and all the interest earned over the 180 days, will now go to benefit projects all over the UK funded by The National Lottery.”
