SOUTHALL and Uxbridge are the luckiest places to buy a scratchcard, according to experts at the National Lottery's headquarters.

The area has been crowned top in the champion's league of where to buy a scratchcard by Camelot, the Lottery's operator.

Last year's winner, Croydon, has been knocked down to third place after residents living in the UB postcode - Southall and Uxbridge - scratched their way to first place.

Newport in Wales came in second, with East London taking seventh place and North West London coming in eighth.

A National Lottery spokesman said: "Someone in the UK actually wins a scratchcard prize every eight seconds on average but, when it comes to our top 10 list, it seems the luck behind the latex lies firmly in the south.

"As one of the UK's favourite impulse purchases, National Lottery scratchcards offer players great winning odds and a range of instant cash prizes at their fingertips."

The top ten champions have been listed as the area for the most prize winners of £50,000 or more.

The odds of scooping a cash prize are one in five and there are approximately 18 different types of card on sale at any one time throughout the UK.