LOTTERY players must check their tickets NOW before it's too late as £8million of jackpots lay unclaimed, an expert has warned.
Lotto pro Andy Carter – a senior winners’ advisor at The National Lottery – explained that Brits have six months to claim their prize.
But countless wins – which total more than £8million – lay unclaimed, with £2million left this month alone.
While Brits who have lost their tickets may believe it's the end of the line, Andy has urged players not to worry.
He told the Sun: "There are unclaimed prizes on our website.
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"We had a draw in January that produced 24 millionaires – there's five unclaimed prizes that we're still searching for people for.
"These are retail prizes that we published the areas for. You can see them on our website."
In January, the five £1million unclaimed prizes were bought in: Breckland, Norfolk; North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear; Dudley, West Midlands; Doncaster, South Yorkshire and in Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicestershire.
And in January, £1million was won in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
More details can be found on the National Lottery website.
Any prizes that are not claimed after 180 days go to National Lottery Projects across the UK.
Andy urged Brits to call the National Lottery as soon as possible if their ticket is missing.
Players have one month to do so, and risk losing their prize all together if they don't remember.
LOTTO LUCK
Andy said: "There's a big draw on Friday with ten prizes of £1million, so it's an apt time to ensure that people know what to do if they lose their tickets.
"If people buy a ticket from a shop and they've lost it – but they've checked the numbers and think it's their prize – they can contact us and let us know.
"But what's really important is they need to contact us within 30 days of the draw.
"There are important draws coming up, but if you lose your ticket you can let us know within 30 days."
A £26million Euromillions jackpot is up for grabs on Friday.
All players should also remember where and when they bought their tickets to help national lottery staff track down their numbers if the ticket goes missing.
"They need to provide as much information as they can", Andy added.
"Where did you buy the ticket? When did you buy it? Did you buy other things at the same time?
"As much information as they can so that we can look into that. There will be a delay on it, we've made people wait until the end of the claim period – so six months.
"But what's really important is they let us know within 30 days."
And finally, he said the best way to avoid missing-ticket panic is to buy on the National Lottery app.
"[If] you buy it online, you haven't got a ticket to lose.
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"And if you do win, and you don't know you've won, we contact you to let you know you've won.
"So if people are worried about losing their tickets, that's the great thing to do."
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