Jackpot winner claims £4.6 million prize - in the nick of time

The winner of a £4.6 million lottery jackpot is believed to have finally come forward to claim their prize - just three days before the deadline.

Last September 12, one lucky punter from the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham correctly predicted the winning National Lottery numbers - 14, 20, 28, 31, 40, 46 and the bonus ball, 44 - but failed to put in their claim.

And with winners given just 90 days to cash in, the money would have gone to good causes unless claimed by this Thursday.

Now, though, the lucky owner has apparently come forward in the nick of time.

"We're delighted that the winner of this amazing prize has now come forward and we hope that they will enjoy their win. It would have been awful if the ticket-holder had missed out on this substantial and life-changing amount of money," a spokesperson tells the Sun.

"We would like to remind all National Lottery players to check their tickets every time they play."

But the mystery Dagenham winner isn't the only person to fail to claim their winnings from that particular draw. There's still a £93,000 prize waiting for somebody from Kirklees, who matched five balls and the bonus.

If you think it might be you, you'd better get a move on - you too have a deadline of this Thursday.

The winner of the £4.6 million has so far chosen to remain anonymous, so we don't know what led them to unearth the winning ticket in the nick of time.

It may, though, be thanks to a reminder from a previous winner, 42-year-old Dean Allen, who won £13.8 million back in 2000. He put out a call in the local paper, the Barking and Dagenham Post, yesterday, urging people to check their numbers before it was too late.

It's easy to find out whether you do have a winning ticket, even months after the draw has taken place. There's a list of unclaimed prizes here, listing the area the ticket was purchased and the winning numbers.

Could one of them be you?