New Year's Eve Lotto winner bags £26.4m must-be-won jackpot

A single winner has scooped the £26.4 million Lotto New Year's Eve jackpot.

Lottery operator Camelot announced ahead of the draw that the amount would not roll over into 2017 and had to be won on Saturday night.

This allowed the life-changing sum to be won by a ticketholder who matched just five of the six main balls, plus the bonus.

Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at The National Lottery, said: "The giant Lotto jackpot had to be won tonight and now on one ticketholder is starting 2017 £26.4m richer.

"This is the seventh player to bank a Lotto jackpot of over £20m in a year that has seen more National Lottery millionaires made than ever before.

"Needless to say we have plenty of champagne on ice and are ready to celebrate with our latest winner."

Camelot rules mean that the jackpot will not roll over once it exceeds £22m and instead must be shared by those with the next best numbers.

Just one ticketholder managed to get five balls plus the bonus and will therefore pocket the £26,410,895 jackpot alone.

Draw machine Merlin pulled out 10, 17, 35, 41, 51, 54 as the winning numbers and 25 as the bonus ball.