SOMEONE in the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth area is in danger of seeing over £500,000 float away from their grasp as the deadline to claim their Lotto jackpot gets ever closer.

SOMEONE in the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth area is in danger of seeing over £500,000 float away from their grasp as the deadline to claim their Lotto jackpot gets ever closer.

The clock is ticking for the mystery local winner who managed to match all six numbers in the Lotto draw on Boxing Day 2007 and this week a former winner from Lowestoft urged players in the area to check their old tickets.

Graham Howlett, who managed to scoop £2.24m back in July 2004 when he also matched all six numbers, explained just what a difference the win can make to your life.

“The money is well worth winning and would really set you up,” he said.

“You would be able to pay off your mortgage and maybe not have to work so hard in the future.”

Mr Howlett, 50, gave up his job at the Birds Eye factory when he won the top prize and after moving to a new house in Lowestoft with his wife Christine, hasn't worked another day since.

“It's given us the freedom to do what we want with no worries. We bought my two stepdaughters a house each and managed to set them up.

“I can't see the point in buying tickets and not checking them,” he added.

The golden ticket everyone in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth is looking for features the numbers 8, 14, 18, 23, 27 and 44, and is worth a grand total of £548,030 to the owner.

However, the lucky winner only has until 5.30pm on June 23 to come forward. If the prize remains unclaimed it will go to the National Lottery's good causes, together with all of the interest it has generated.

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

As with all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days to claim their prize on 0845 910 0000.

Meanwhile, while the search continues, one couple in Suffolk were celebrating this week after scooping nearly £4m.

Stan and Pat Cable, from Eye, matched all six numbers in the Saturday, May 17 Lotto draw to win a cool £3,980,528.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Cable, a retired council groundworker, said that they would certainly not be blowing their money on a life in the fast lane, as they planned to stay in their rented two-bedroom local authority home where they have lived for nearly 27 years.

The couple, who have been playing the same numbers on the lottery since it began, said they would like to spend some of the money on a new caravan, a new 4x4 vehicle and a small car, while giving some to family and a charity related to diabetes which Mr Gable suffers from.

The pair would also like to go on a cruise, and a new sofa is a likely purchase as they have only had two in their 37 years of married life.