A substantial Lotto prize which remained unclaimed for more than 180 days has been passed over to the National Lottery Projects.
The lucky ticket-holder who bought their Lotto ticket in Westminster appears to have forgotten the £2 they spent on October 30, 2013 which could have won them £78,482.
It remained unclaimed for more than 180 days after the draw took place so Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, operator of The National Lottery, has passed the cash plus the interest it earned, onto the National Lottery Projects.
The winner had until 11pm last night (April 28) to claim the prize before it expired.
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.”
The unclaimed prize will be added to the £31 billion already raised by National Lottery players since 1994 to help more than 420,000 projects across the arts, sports, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
Anyone who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180 day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000.