National Lottery and EuroMillions warning for Brits as £8m in prizes unclaimed

31 December 2023 , 15:53

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Luck of the lottery (Image: Getty Images)

Lucky Brits could be sitting on a fortune without knowing it - with more than £8million in prize money still to be claimed.

National Lottery and EuroMillions tickets bought in 12 locations across the country have yet to pay out. Seven of the tickets are worth £1million each. The total amount unclaimed for 2023 is a whopping £8,025,663.

Anyone thinking of checking their pockets for a number-matching ticket should get a move on before the sixth-month deadline. After that the prize money will be donated to good causes.

Six of the unclaimed prizes come from the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker draws. The jackpots were won in Bolton in Greater Manchester, Haringey, London, Chorley in Lancashire, Northumberland in the North East and North Lanarkshire in Scotland.

Time is nearly up on one millionaire ticket, bought in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, on July 28. The last date to claim will be January 24. It was bought in the borough and the winning Millionaire Maker code was MSJS 96560. The winner in Haringey is the next at risk and has until February 18, 2024 to come forward with proof.

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A photo of a Euro Millions lottery ticket in the United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

‌Players can check their tickets online using the National Lottery app or at national-lottery.co.uk. They can also check tickets in retail outlets. Playing on these platforms means the ticket is checked and players will receive an email notification if they win a prize. They can also scan tickets bought in retail outlets on the National Lottery app to check if they are a winner.

There are still a number of smaller - though potentially life-changing - tickets to be claimed. A EuroMillions player from Edinburgh is missing out on £84,616.60 having bought a ticket for the draw on November 3. The numbers were 8, 21, 31, 39, 47. Lucky Stars 5, 9

A Thunderball winner in Reddich is also sitting on a ticket worth £500,000 and bought on December 8. The numbers were 2, 15, 31, 35, 37 and Thunderball 6.

Earlier The Mirror reported how a Tesco delivery driver was told how he thought it was a "trick" after winning the £3.8 million Lotto Jackpot and before completing his shift at work to not leave colleagues in the lurch.

Ticket-holder Jonny Johnston, 45, was delivering festive goodies for his employer, Tesco, just before he discovered his incredible stroke of luck. On completing his rounds on Saturday, December 16, he enjoyed a Christmas night out with work colleagues before spotting a familiar message from the National Lottery on this email announcing there was ‘good news about his ticket’.

Paul Greaves