A mystery lottery punter scooped a top cash prize - thanks to super sleuth bookies.

Betting shop staff turned into detectives after a weekly £4,000 Irish Lottery prize went unclaimed.

After hours of painstaking work poring over 2,000 lottery tickets, the team of five uncovered a one in a million lead.

They managed to match handwriting from a previous ticket to the winning article - and pinpoint the day the punter usually bought her ticket.

Having discovered the buyer's modus operandi, staff at Wignall betting shop in Laindon shopping centre lay in wait before confronting their suspect with news of the win.

However, like all good detective stories, there was a final twist in the tale.

Manager John Banks, 53, explained: "We were surprised no one had come to claim the money on Monday.

"So we went through the previous lottery bets to see when the person would normally come in and to see if we could recognise the writing on the ticket.

"We must have scrutinised about 2,000 tickets and eventually worked out she came in on Saturdays.

"When she came in again we recognised her ticket and asked her if she had done the lottery the week before.

"When I asked her what her numbers were she reeled them off.

"But when I asked whether she had the ticket she said she had thrown it out that morning."

It turned out the middle-aged woman, who does not want to be identified, believed she had lost after reading the numbers in a national newspaper.

However, after trawling through a rubbish bin she discovered the all-important ticket.

Mr Banks said: "She was absolutely astounded that we told her she actually won, otherwise she would never have realised."

Shop owner Diane Palmer said: "My staff looked through hundreds of tickets to find the winning line. That's not something you expect staff in a betting office to do."

Just the ticket - betting shop manager John Banks and cashier Helen Thompson trawled through thousands of Irish lottery tickets to track down the winner

Picture: ANDY PALMER

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