Last chance for huge lottery payout

Unless they come forward before 5.30pm on Monday, May 24 the money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to the National Lottery's Good Causes Fund.

In a bid to trace the missing ticket - for the Lotto draw of Wednesday, November 25 - the Lottery Amnesia Patrol was in Bexhill this week.

Shoppers were quizzed about their lottery ticket buying habits to see if it might jog their memories.

And the pockets of clothing recently donated to charity shops were checked to see if the ticket - with the winning numbers 3, 6, 11, 17, 23 and 29 - might be there.

Amazingly, a second ticket worth 251,657 and bought in the same area for the draw on December 30, is also still unaccounted for.

It matched five numbers and the bonus ball out of the winning combination of 5, 14, 27, 29, 34 and 35, bonus ball 4.

All draws have a 180-day deadline by which claims must be made, and this can be done by calling the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000.

Amongst people approached in Bexhill with a polite reminder to check their lottery tickets were:

Local florist Lorna Hilton, who plays most games every week believing that "nothing ventured nothing gained".

Lorna always knows where her ticket is - safely tucked in her back pocket.

The busy mum hopes the ticket is found, and thinks given the amount people have been talking about it she thinks it just might happen.

Mr Sergadam, of Bexhill Road, plays the Lucky Dip every week without fail and always checks his ticket which he keeps in his wallet.

If he found the missing ticket in an old pair of jeans, he said he'd jump on the first flight to Mauritius to see members of his family.

Rob Ward, manager of the Cancer Research UK charity shop in Bexhill, has been racking his brain and feels a bit nervy about the missing ticket.

He usually plays online but remembers buying a one-off ticket at a local shop in November last year.

He isn't 100 per cent sure he checked it!

If Rob won, the said he first thing he'd do is donate his salary from 20 years of working at Cancer Research UK back to the charity.