A MULTI-million pound lottery winner, who claimed to have bought his ticket in Worcester, has been convicted of cashing in a fake Lottery ticket to claim a £2.5 million jackpot.

Edward Putman, 54, had denied fraud by false representation after claiming an outstanding jackpot of £2.5 million with a fake ticket in 2009.

READ MORE: £2.5m 'fake Worcester' lottery winner's fraud trial gets underway

But after a trial jurors at St Albans Crown Court found Putman, of Station Road, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, guilty.

The builder hatched the plot with friend Giles Knibbs - who then worked in the securities department at the lottery operator - with the pair submitting a deliberately damaged forgery just before the 180-day limit to stake claims expired.

But the fraud unravelled after Mr Knibbs confessed to friends he had "conned" the lottery, before taking his own life after an angry row about how the winnings were divided.

READ MORE: 'New proposals are a chance to get a Brexit deal' says Worcester MP Robin Walker

Jurors at St Albans Crown Court found Putman guilty of fraud by false representation on Friday after a two-week trial. Putman, wearing a Barbour-style jacket and blue jeans, made no reaction when the verdict was read out.