However, after waiting for nearly two weeks without hearing from the other winner, it was announced that the second successful ticket was sold in Worcester. One woman who has claimed the ticket belongs to her is Susanne Hinte, a 48-year-old grandmother who is originally from Germany. She says she bought the winning ticket but it accidentally went through the wash in the pocket of a pair of jeans.
Shopkeeper Natu Patel, who is understood to have sold the winning ticket at his Ambleside News store in Warndon, says Hinte’s numbers matched the winning line, but the date was not visible and the barcode had faded. He also revealed that Hinte seemed ‘nervous’ when she came into his shop with the ticket.
Hinte’s claim will now have to be investigated but, even if her details are validated, she will have to wait 180 days from the date of the draw to be paid, as is the standard procedure for damaged tickets. Lottery operators Camelot need to make sure the £33 million goes to the rightful winner, and the issue has been complicated by the fact that so many people have now been in contact to say the money is theirs.
In a statement, Camelot said: “Given the interest in the missing £33 million ticket holder, we have received hundreds of claims of this nature.” Each case is being considered one by one and some may require further investigation, but unless someone comes forward with a ticket which can categorically be confirmed as the winning entry, it will be a long and tense wait for all the claimants before the matter has to be resolved on 7th July.
In the meantime, the Lotto jackpot has climbed back up to £16.6 million ahead of Wednesday night’s draw following a run of four rollovers and it is recommended that ticket holders do not plan any washing before thoroughly checking their pockets!