7:17pm UK, Thursday February 03, 2005

One person's loss has been good causes' gain after the deadline for winning the largest ever unclaimed prize on the National Lottery passed.

As the clock ticked past 5.30pm, the last opportunity to claim the £7,039,469 waiting to be collected since last August disappeared.

180 National Lottery balls

It could have been you

The unclaimed Lottery Extra ticket with its numbers 3,5,8,18,28 and 48 was bought in Belfast.

The winning sum, together with £160,000 of interest which has built up since the ticket was drawn, will now go to the National Lottery Good Causes.

Good causes have benefited by £16bn through lottery sales over the last 10 years.

The biggest winning lottery ticket, more than £20m, was also bought in Belfast last summer and was claimed.

Cancer sufferer Iris Jeffrey, 58, bought the ticket last July just before undergoing treatment.

She only realised she had won the jackpot six weeks later when Camelot appealed for the winner to come forward.

Organisers Camelot said around £10m has still not been claimed from 2004 and urged people to check their old tickets.