£1m ticket goes unclaimed

A £1m lottery prize is now going to go to the Good Causes, after the winner failed to come forward before the deadline.

The ticket was bought in Central Bedfordshire for a EuroMillions draw on Friday 9 July 2010 and the winner had until 5.30pm on Wednesday 5 January 2011 to claim their prize.

The money, plus the interest it earned, will now go to the National Lottery's Good Causes.

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 £25 billion which, over the last 16 years, has funded the biggest programme of civic regeneration seen in the UK since the 19th Century."

The ticket had the winning EuroMillions raffle selection of ZSW270497 from 9 July 2010.

The unclaimed prize from Central Bedfordshire will be added to the £25 billion that has already been raised for the Good Causes through National Lottery ticket sales since its launch in November 1994.

With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. 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.