One unlucky Lotto winner from the Waveney area of Suffolk has lost out on their £1 million prize because they have waited too long to claim it.

The money, plus the interest it earned, has now gone to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK, Camelot UK Lotteries Limited has confirmed.

The Lotto Millionaire Raffle ticket was drawn on August 26 this year and the holder, who bought it from a shop in Waveney, had until midnight on October 23 to collect their winnings.

Every week Lotto Millionaire Raffle guarantees to create two millionaires – one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. For every Lotto line played, players automatically receive a Lotto Millionaire Raffle code printed on their ticket.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ advisor at The National Lottery, said: “Unfortunately, I can confirm that the ticket-holder did not come forward within the deadline to claim their prize and has now sadly missed out on this substantial amount of money. To avoid this unfortunate situation happening again, I would urge all National Lottery players to check their tickets on a regular basis.

“We tried very hard to find the ticket-holder and it’s a real shame that they have missed out, but there is still one winner – the nation. This money, and all the interest earned over the 180 days, will now go to benefit projects all over the UK funded by The National Lottery.”

Lotto players raise, on average, more than £30 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.

More than £9,500 of Lottery money has previously been used to improve facilities and coaching at Waveney Valley Athletics Club.

While more than £1,000 has been gifted to the North Suffolk Association for the Elderly to provide activities for elderly people living with disabilities.

With all National Lottery games, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket.