NATIONAL Lottery players in Dorset are being urged to check their tickets for the chance to claim a staggering EuroMillions jackpot prize of £40,957,696.60.

The search is on to find the owner of the winning ticket, who matched all five main numbers and the two Lucky Star numbers in the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday, December 3. The winning numbers on that date were 18, 31, 32, 38 and 48, with the Lucky Star numbers 04 and 12. The ticket-holder has until May 31, 2020 to make their claim.

As with all major prizes (£50,000 and over) approximately two weeks after the draw, if no valid claim has been received, the area in which the ticket was purchased is released. This area is provided by Camelot’s security team in line with its licence obligations and is designed to encourage tickets to be checked but also to enable the ticket-holder to remain anonymous if they wish.

The £40,957,696.60 prize is the seventh EuroMillions jackpot to be won in the UK this year.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ advisor at The National Lottery said, “Our player services team are on standby waiting for the ticket-holder to come forward and claim their prize. They have great expertise in helping winners embrace life-changing wins and making sure that they are able to start to enjoy their new found wealth as quickly as possible. They will be on hand every step of the way to guide the ticket-holder through the winning experience.

“We’re desperate to find this mystery ticket-holder and unite them with their winnings and we’re urging everyone to try checking in the pockets of clothing, in wallets, bags, down the back of the sofa and anywhere a missing ticket could be hiding – someone out there could literally be sitting on a fortune! We have the champagne on ice and our fingers crossed that the lucky winner comes forward to claim their win.”