SOMEONE, somewhere in Wirral has waved goodbye to a fortune . . .

For the ticket which scooped a £552,002 share of the jackpot prize in the National Lottery draw on March 8, 1997, was bought on Wirral.

But despite widespread publicity - the six winning numbers were published in a prominent position on the front page of the Globe - the ticketholder failed to claim the prize.

And now, because it has remained unclaimed and passed the 180-day deadline, the money, plus interest, has gone to the five Good Causes.

It is the National Lottery's second largest unclaimed jackpot prize so far. Top of the unwanted list was a ticket bought in Hull which won £2,054,754 last May.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.