ONE Islington resident could be �267,000 worse off without even knowing it after a winning lottery ticket bought in the area last summer expired.

The huge cash prize, plus the interest it has earned since the EuroMillions draw on June 25, will now pass to “Good Causes” after it remained unclaimed for more than 180 days.

The mystery ticket-holder – who matched the five main numbers 1,8,18,28 and 31, and one of the two Lucky Stars 8 and 9 – bought their winning ticket in the Islington and City of London area, but missed out on the best Christmas present ever after the deadline to claim passed at 5.30pm on December 22.

A National Lottery spokesman 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.”

At the beginning of November, the Gazette published an appeal from Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, operator of The National Lottery, in the hope that the winner would come forward. But nobody responded, and the money will now go top charities and other causes.

“We tried very hard to find the ticket-holder and it’s a real shame that they have missed out,” said the National Lottery spokesman. “But there is still one winner – the nation.

“This money will now go to the ‘Good Causes’, adding to the �25 billion which, over the last 16 years, has funded the biggest programme of civic regeneration seen in the UK since the 19th Century.”