A retired bricklayer has told how he forgot about a USD 50,000 winning lottery ticket for four months before cashing it in.

The 74-year-old winner – from Laurel city, in the US state of Maryland – bought the USD 10 (GBP 8.2) ticket in November last year and had been carrying it around ever since.

But the winner – who chose not to be named – forgot about the ticket until he happened to find it earlier this month.

When he looked at it, he realised that he had matched four numbers and the Powerball for a USD 50,000 (GBP 40,941) prize.

Another number that he matched in a different line had earned him another USD 4 (GBP 3.27), bringing his winnings to a total of USD 50,004 (GBP 40,940).

He hurried to the lottery headquarters in Baltimore and collected his prize on 22nd March.

When asked how he would spend the money he said he has no plans yet.

The Maryland Lottery said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “No one has hit the jackpot in recent weeks so the estimated jackpot annuity for tonight’s drawing (March 22) is USD 96 million [GBP 78.6 million].

“The estimated cash option is USD 51.7 million [GBP 42 million].”