A Londoner has won £10,600,000 on the National Lottery and doesn’t even know it
If you’ve got a spare moment, maybe check your trousers or jacket pockets – there’s a chance you’ve just won £10,600,000.
Someone in Bexley, south east London, won the Lotto draw on October 10 but has yet to claim their prize.
National Lottery bosses want the mystery player to step forward and they only have until April 2 to claim their winnings.
The winning ticket matched all six numbers, meaning they’ve scored a life-changing prize for most people.
Even more mystery winners are out there
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
They’re not the only person to have won thousands or even millions of pounds without realising.
A person from Birmingham has until February 11 to collect their UK Millionaire Maker prize of £1million.
If they don’t step forward, the money will be donated to National Lottery Projects like re-wilding efforts and supporting youth care workers.
A Lotto ticket bought in South Gloucestershire won £1million on November 1 last year.
That person has until April 30 to claim their prize.
While whoever bought a EuroMillions ticket in Bournemouth got lucky in a draw on November 4.
For them, the looming collection date is May 3. Any later than that, and they’ll miss out on the prize.
There are smaller but equally transformative amounts which are yet to be claimed by EuroMillions winners.
What happens when you win the Lottery?
Once you have managed to find the ticket and check the numbers really match, you should call the number on the back of the ticket connecting to the lottery line.
You will then get a call from the winner’s advisor who will then come visit you in person, ideally the next day.
You can read more about what happens during each step after winning here.
One player from Powys, Wales, won £112,091 by matching five balls and a star in a draw on December 12.
They have until June 10 to claim the prize, which was won with numbers 7, 25, 30, 37, 41 with the Lucky Stars 5 and 11.
‘This purchase has changed my life forever’
Winning the lottery is life-changing, to say the least – and Sean Henderson knows this all too well.
Sean, 39, will receive £10,000 every month for 30 years on The National Lottery’s Set For Life Game after winning in December.
All because the carpenter popped to Co-Op in Ilfracombe to buy tea, because there were no parking spaces at the Lidl nearby.
He 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!’
Sean only realised he’d won following the draw when he saw the ticket gathering dust on top of his microwave.
‘I was so scared of losing the ticket – or actually waking up and finding out it had all been a dream,’ he recalled.
The dad plans to tick off his bucket list, such as building a home from scratch, going on holiday in the Canary Islands or buying his son a PS5.
Kathy Garrett, a winners’ advisor for the National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, explained how players can check if they bought the winning ticket.
Garrett said: ‘Rummage through your warm coats and double-check that this winning ticket hasn’t inadvertently been stowed away with your hats, scarves and gloves.’
She said a builder claimed a whopping £50,000,000 ticket days before it expired after ‘he had left the winning ticket in the sun visor of his work van.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
