Lottery bosses hunt Tameside's missing millionaire as a £1m jackpot goes unclaimed with just two months left to claim it

A £1 million National Lottery jackpot bought in Tameside, Greater Manchester, on 1 July is at risk of expiring unclaimed, with the deadline falling at midnight on 28 December. Andy Carter of lottery operator Allwyn says he has searched "high and low" across the borough without success, and is now making a direct public appeal. The winning numbers were 5, 8, 26, 33, 39, 42, with Bonus Ball 54.

Anyone who bought a Lotto ticket in Tameside this summer is urged to dig it out immediately — time is running short.

The stakes are real: earlier this year a £10.6m jackpot bought in Bexley went unclaimed after no valid claim was made by the cut-off, with the money going to charity instead.

A separate £12m unclaimed ticket bought in Rhondda Cynon Taf in June also remains outstanding, with the lottery still investigating one woman's claim it was thrown in the bin.