"HUNDREDS" of claims have already been lodged for Worcester's £33 million jackpot as the hunt goes on to find the elusive lottery winner.

We have already revealed how Susanne Hint, a 48-year-old grandmother from Warndon, Worcester, has lodged a claim for the jackpot after buying a ticket at Ambleside News.

She says the ticket was damaged after being left in her jeans and put through the wash, rubbing off the date and barcode. The family attempted to dry it out using a hairdryer and the ticket has since been sent off to Camelot for verification.

However, she is not alone and Camelot has been inundated with jackpot claimants since they launched an appeal to find the winner on Friday which has drawn big interest from the national television and print media.

A Camelot spokesman confirmed today that they had received "hundreds of claims" although he could not quote a precise figure.

They now face sifting through the submissions to find which, if any, are the winning ticket.

He said: “We have the discretion to pay prizes in respect of stolen, lost or destroyed National Lottery tickets only if the player has submitted a claim in writing within 30 days of the relevant draw.

"If the player can provide sufficient evidence, we will investigate and consider the validity of the claim.

"Such evidence may include where and when the ticket was bought, how the numbers were chosen (e.g. Lucky Dip or chosen numbers), how many lines played and other relevant information.

"If we subsequently determine that the claim is valid, we then have the discretion to pay the prize 180 days after the draw.

“Given the interest in the missing £33 million ticket-holder, we have received hundreds of claims of this nature.

"All of these are currently being considered on a case-by-case basis, and we will follow up with all claimants directly to advise them whether their claim will be investigated further.

"Given the volume and the fact that some claims may require further information from the players involved, the process will take time.

"We will contact claimants as soon as possible, but obviously need to ensure we have thoroughly investigated all claims. We do not comment publicly on any ongoing claims and would only provide further information once a prize has been validated and paid out. In the event of a stolen, lost or destroyed claim, this could not happen until 180 days after the draw at the earliest.

“We have not released details of the shop where the ticket was bought and no retailer would have been informed that they have sold the winning ticket.

"We have only released the area in which the ticket was purchased. This size of this area is designed to encourage tickets to be checked but also to enable the ticket-holder to remain anonymous if they wish.

"We would only release details of the shop if we received a valid claim and the ticket-holder subsequently took publicity.

“We still would urge all players to check their tickets and contact us if they think they have the winning one.”

The winning numbers are 26, 27, 46, 47, 52 and 58.

The Worcester News has spoken to newsagents around the city, including Wyld’s Lane News and Virk’s Newsagents, who told us none of their customers had as yet come forward to say they believed they had the golden ticket.

Peter Richardson, from Richardsons newsagents in St John’s, said: “It could have been us that sold it, though at the moment it could be anybody.

“Although none of our customers have told us they have made a claim, everyone is talking about it.”