THE search is on for a lucky Lotto player from York who has yet to claim more than £200,000.

National Lottery bosses say a mystery ticket holder from the York area matched five numbers and the bonus ball on Saturday, April 10, scooping a £205,569 prize.

The winning numbers were 25, 30, 34, 39, 40, 47 and the bonus number, 16.

Jacquie Wilson, from Camelot, is appealing for local National Lottery players to be vigilant about checking their tickets.

Jacquie said: "We are desperate to find this man or woman and unite them with their prize. It's a fantastic amount of money which could make an enormous difference to someone's life. We just hope we can find them in time."

Players who believe it could be them should call the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000. The lucky ticket holder has until 11pm on October 7 to claim their fortune.

After this deadline, the prize plus all interest it has generated will go to the lottery good causes, adding to the £626 million in unclaimed prize money which has already passed over from all National Lottery games since 1994.

To jog players' memories, National Lottery staff are reminding people that the ticket was bought during the same week that York RFC beat Selby 33-24 in an explosive derby match, while York City continued their bad season with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Cambridge United.

Jacquie said: "The draw took place over Easter so the ticket may have been put to one side and not looked at over the busy holiday weekend. We are urging everyone to check any old tickets again, to look in wallets, coat pockets, down the back of the sofa, and maybe even in the car if they bought a ticket on their way to spend Easter away somewhere."

Updated: 14:03 Friday, May 14, 2004