Are you feeling lucky? Well, if you happen to have a spare moment and some pockets to check, you may want to do so because there's a chance you could be the winner of a life-changing £10,600,000. That's right, someone in Bexley, south east London, bought a Lotto ticket more than five months ago and has yet to claim their prize of exactly £10,633,323. But time is running out as the National Lottery is giving the winner until April 2 to come forward and claim their winnings.
The winning ticket was bought in a National Lottery retailer and matched all six main numbers 06, 08, 12, 33, 49, 59 in the October 5 draw. The lucky winner has until April 2 to claim their prize and start living their best life. If they don't come forward by then, the money will be donated to National Lottery Projects, such as re-wilding efforts and supporting youth care workers.
But this isn't the only unclaimed prize out there. In fact, there are seven other lottery prizes that have yet to be claimed. Andy Carter, senior winners' advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, is urging all Lotto players to check their tickets and see if they could be the mystery multi-millionaire. He asks if anyone was in and around Bexley in the week leading up to the October 4 draw, or if they visited the area for the day and bought a Lotto ticket. Carter wants nothing more than to unite the winner with their life-changing prize.
But it's not just the Bexley winner who is missing out. There have been other mystery winners who have won thousands or even millions of pounds without realizing it. A Lotto ticket bought in South Gloucestershire won £1 million on November 1 last year and the winner has until April 30 to claim their prize. Another person who bought a EuroMillions ticket in Bournemouth on November 4 has until May 3 to claim their prize. And there are even smaller but equally transformative amounts that have yet to be claimed by EuroMillions winners.
So what happens when you win the lottery? Once you've found the winning ticket and checked the numbers, you should call the number on the back of the ticket to connect with the lottery line. Then, you'll receive a call from a winner's advisor who will visit you in person the next day. You can read more about what happens after winning here.
Just ask Sean Henderson, a carpenter from Devon who won £10,000 every month for 30 years on The National Lottery's Set For Life Game in December. He only bought the ticket because there were no parking spaces at the nearby Lidl and he wanted to buy some tea at the Co-Op in Ilfracombe. Henderson said, "I was feeling lucky, and it turns out that I certainly was! This purchase has changed my life forever – and that of my little boy's too!"
But not all winners are aware of their newfound wealth. Sean only realized he'd won after seeing the ticket gathering dust on top of his microwave, and even then, he was scared it was all just a dream. Now, he plans to tick off his bucket list, which includes building a home from scratch, going on holiday in the Canary Islands, and buying his son a PS5. So if you happen to find a lottery ticket in your pockets or jacket, make sure to check it because you never know – it could change your life forever.
