#Colchester: Historic day sees butlers help search for lottery ticket holder

11 Oct #Colchester: Historic day sees butlers help search for lottery ticket holder

Passengers on Colchester’s busiest town centre bus route were greeted by a team of butlers today (Tuesday 11 October) as The National Lottery continues its search in the crucial 30-day period for the ticket-holder of a missing £8,168,679 Lotto prize.

The National Lottery deployed its crack team of bus butlers with some urgency – anyone not in possession of their ticket, for whatever reason, but who believes they have a genuine claim can still make a claim in writing to Camelot, but it must be before Friday (14 October 2016).¹

With £8million up for grabs, it was aptly the Arriva Bus’ Number 8 service the butlers hopped aboard, reminding passengers of the Friday deadline and providing a taste of the multi-millionaire lifestyle the lucky ticket-holder may soon be sampling.

Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at The National Lottery said: “Our butlers are prompting passengers to put away their bus passes and check a different type of ticket in the hope we can find the missing multi-millionaire. The timing is crucial, although there are 180 days for the winner to come forward with the winning ticket, Friday heralds the end of the important 30-day deadline.

“During this 30-day period, it’s still possible to make a claim in writing to Camelot even if the ticket has been lost, destroyed or even eaten by the dog! Here’s hoping the butlers jog some memories or someone aboard the bus mentions it to a friend, there’s £8million waiting to find a home and we’re doing all we can to connect the rightful owner with their prize.”

“The mystery winner will join two other ticket-holders from the draw on Wednesday 14 September. These lucky winners also matched five numbers and the bonus ball and are already enjoying their share of the £24,506,037 prize pot; now it’s the Colchester ticket-holder’s turn.”

The winning Lotto numbers on Wednesday 14 September, 2016 were 16, 23, 35, 42, 44, 58 and the bonus ball was 28. The lucky ticket-holder has untilMonday 13 March, 2017 to claim their prize.²

John Kearnes, driver of the Arriva Bus’ Number 8, which runs between Monkwick and Highwoods taking in the High Street and Colchester Hospital, said: “I’ve welcomed all manner of passengers on this bus but I can safely say this is the first time we’ve had butlers aboard! I really hope that we can find that lucky ticket-holder, I’m certainly going home tonight to double-check my tickets and telling everyone I know to do the same. There can be a great community atmosphere on our buses so hopefully we’ll spread the word and someone will be £8million better off.”

The Colchester win is an amount usually associated with a Lotto jackpot, however as soon as the Lotto jackpot reaches or exceeds £22m there has to be winner in the next draw and this is what happened on Wednesday 14 September. No one matched all six numbers so the prize money was shared between the winners in the next winning prize level (five plus bonus ball) – with three winners sharing a total of £24,506,037 (£8,168,679 each).

If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the prize claim deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK. The National Lottery changes the lives of individuals as well as communities – players raise, on average, over £36 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week.

With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0844 338 7551 or email [email protected]

Anyone concerned about lost or unchecked tickets may like to consider either setting up a National Lottery Direct Debit or playing online at www.national-lottery.co.uk. Numbers can be entered in advance and lucky winners are notified online if their numbers come up. For further information call 0845 912 5000 or visit www.national-lottery.co.uk.