Lottery winner’s millions go down the drain

THE winner of a California Lottery prize of $26 million (£18.5m) may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain.

The winning Superlotto Plus ticket for the November 14 draw was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk.

Thursday marked the last day to redeem it and no-one came forward.

However, store worker Esperanza Hernandez told the Whittier Daily News a woman came in on Wednesday and told workers she had put the ticket in her trousers and it was destroyed in the laundry.

The store’s manager said surveillance video showed the woman who bought the ticket, and she is known to store workers.

A copy of the video was given to California Lottery officials and the claim will be investigated.

If someone loses a ticket, they must provide evidence they owned it, such as a photograph of the front and back.

If the prize is not claimed, it will go to California public schools.

The prize can be taken in annual instalments or as a $19.7m (£14m) cash option.

The store that sold the ticket will receive a $130,000 (£92,000) bonus.

It is uncommon for large jackpots to go unclaimed, lottery officials said, but four prizes of $20m dollars or more have not been claimed since 1997.