Euromillions: Unclaimed winning £41m ticket bought in Dorset

Players are being urged to "check, double-check and triple-check" their tickets

The deadline has passed for the winner of an unclaimed lottery prize of nearly £41m to come forward if their ticket has been lost or destroyed.

The ticket from the Euromillions draw on Tuesday 3 December, worth £40,957,696.60, was bought in Dorset, the National Lottery said.

The winning numbers were 18, 31, 32, 38 and 48 with 4 and 12 as lucky stars.

The winner will still be able to claim after the deadline which passed at 17:00 GMT, if they have the ticket.

Anyone who suspected they had bought a ticket but it had been lost, destroyed or stolen, had the chance to apply to the lottery in writing.

The National Lottery has not yet said if it has received any claims.

Spokesman Patrick Lisoire previously said it was "not very common" to have such a large unclaimed prize.

"People are predisposed to checking the tickets they've bought but for whatever reason - the busy lives we lead, or the lead-up to Christmas - somebody hasn't quite got round to checking their tickets."

The jackpot must be claimed within six months of the draw or the prize money, plus all interest generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.

Tickets for Euromillions are sold in nine countries - the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Portugal and Switzerland - with ticket-holders in all those countries trying to win a share of the same jackpot each week.