THE lock really is ticking for a mystery local lottery winner in the Boroughs of Antrim and Ballymena who has just a week left to claim an amazing Lotto prize worth £116,304.

The search is still on to find the owner of the winning ticket, who matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the Lotto draw on 18 December, 2013.

With just a week to go National Lottery players are being urged to check and double-check their tickets one last time for the chance to claim this life-enhancing prize in time.

The winning Lotto numbers on that date were 2, 7, 25, 35, 40, 42 and the bonus ball was 13. The lucky ticket-holder has until Monday 16 June, 2014 to make their claim1.

A National Lottery spokesperson said: “Time really is running out for the winner of this prize, but we are still hopeful that someone will come forward at the very last minute to claim the money.

“We’re urging everyone to check their old tickets one final time or look anywhere a missing Lotto ticket could be hiding. This life-enhancing prize could really help to make dreams become a reality for someone out there.”

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

The National Lottery changes the lives of individuals as well as communities – players raise, on average, over £33 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week.

In Northern Ireland alone nearly 20,000 individual National Lottery grants have been awarded to help projects across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.

With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket.

Anyone who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000.

Anyone concerned about lost or unchecked tickets may like to consider either setting up a National Lottery Subscription or playing online at www.national-lottery.co.uk.

Numbers can be entered in advance and lucky winners are notified online if their numbers come up. For further information call 0845 912 5000 or visit www.national-lottery.co.uk.