AN unlucky punter has lost a £1m fortune after failing to come forward with their winning lottery ticket in time.

A mystery ticket-holder bought a winning ticket for the EuroMillions draw on March 13 on North Tyneside.

However, they failed to come forward to collect the prize ahead of the deadline of midnight yesterday (Wednesday Sept 9)

Lottery operator Camelot said the prize money, plus the interest it earned, has now gone to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.

A National Lottery spokesperson 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.”