The grandmother-of-four from Worcester was brought to the public’s attention following her claim and was adamant that the huge prize should be hers, but as the ticket was severely damaged, lottery officials would need to verify the claim first. The organisation that operates the National Lottery have apparently declined the offer of CCTV footage from the owner of the newsagents where the washer-ravished ticket had been purchased. A senior security source told a reporter from the Daily Telegraph: “If Miss Hinte was even suspected of winning the lottery the first thing Camelot would have done is grab that CCTV footage.”
The washed-out Lotto ticket is one of many entries that are being investigated by Camelot, with the company threatening to take legal action against anyone claiming to have won with a fake ticket. It remains unclear as to whether Miss Hinte, who is due in court later this year accused of theft in an unrelated incident, will face any charges of fraud for her claim should she not actually hold the winning line.
The 48-year-old’s claim is just one of hundreds that Camelot have received following the draw on January 9th. Bosses at the firm are able to identify where and when the ticket was bought and have already dismissed many false claims. However, the Watford-based company are still urging all players to examine their tickets and contact them if they think they have the winning one. Players with damaged tickets have up to 30 days to contact Camelot in writing to make a claim on a missing prize.
