THE mystery winner of an £8million lottery ticket is most likely live in Colchester, Lotto bosses have said.

The National Lottery team yesterday made an urgent appeal for the rightful winner of £8,168,679 to come forward by this Friday.

The ticket holder, who bought the ticket in Colchester, matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the Lotto draw on Wednesday September 14, 2016.

The winning Lotto numbers on that date were 16, 23, 35, 42, 44, 58 and the bonus ball was 28.

Patrick Lisoire, publicity manager for Camelot, said: “The majority of prizes are claimed pretty much straight away.

“For whatever reason, every now and again something like this happens and a month after the draw someone hasn’t come forward.

“There could be a number of any reasons for that.

“Lots of players are habitual in their checking habits and sometimes check a few tickets in one go at the end of the month.

“During the draw time kids were going back to school still. They could have been on holiday. It might not be a Colchester resident, it might be someone who has visited for a day or who just works in Colchester.

“But the vast majority of claimants are someone from the town, and who know the town well.”

By this Friday, anyone not in possession of their ticket, for whatever reason, but who believes they have a genuine claim can still make a claim in writing to Camelot.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ advisor at The National Lottery explained: “The timing is crucial, although there are 180 days for the winner to come forward with the winning ticket, Friday heralds the important 30-day deadline.

“During this 30-day period, it’s still possible to make a claim in writing to Camelot, even if the ticket has been lost, destroyed or even eaten by the dog!”

The final deadline for the lucky ticket holder is Monday, March 13, 2017.

If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the final deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.

In a bid to prompt players’ memories, passengers on Colchester’s busiest town centre bus route, the Arriva number 8, were greeted by a team of butlers yesterday.

Mr Lisoire added: “When we do these stunts, it worth doing.

“There have been people who have read something in the paper, heard something on the radio or on TV and because of that have come forward and claimed their ticket.

“There was a couple about five or six years ago in Barking and Dagenham who claimed a £2.5million prize after their daughter heard an appeal on the local radio, so these appeals can work.”

The majority of winners opt for no publicity, however for those who did wish to go public, they may opt for a press conference or remain anonymous but agree for the store where they bought the ticket to publicise it came from there.

The National Lottery will not say where in Colchester the ticket was bought as if the winner regularly buys from the same shop, it could compromise their anonymity.

Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket should call the National Lottery Line on 0844 338 7551 or email help@national-lottery.co.uk