As astonished Lotto fan has cleaned up after a long lost winning ticket worth more than GBP 2 million turned up in a spring clean.

Lottery chiefs in Germany had been trying to find the EUR 2.48 million winner since the May 2024 draw.

But the winner, from Hamburg, only discovered his massive jackpot for the Spiel 77 draw when he found the ticket during a clean up at his home and checked the numbers.

Managing Director of Lotto Hamburg Torsten Meinberg, 63, poses in undated photo. A player who scooped EUR 2.48 million (GBP 2 million) has still not collected the prize. Note: Licensed content. (LOTTO Hamburg GmbH/NF/newsX)

Luckily players in Germany have up to three years to claim and the delighted ticket holder contacted lotto chiefs immediately.

The win delighted social media users.

One X user named as '@lottofan' on said: "Imagine cleaning your house and finding a EUR 2.5 million ticket. Unreal!"

Image shows the city of Hamburg, Germany, undated photo. A player who scooped EUR 2.48 million (GBP 2 million) has still not collected the prize. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (NF/newsX)

And on Reddit another user warned: "Always check your old tickets! You never know."

Then a Facebook fan said: "This is why I never throw away my tickets until I double-check."

(MJ Leidig/newsX)