Remembering Spot the Ball - the game millions used to play each week

Back in the day, when Littlewoods was at the forefront of the football pools, they launched a weekly game called Spot The Ball. It seemed straightforward: players would examine an action photo from a football match with the ball removed and attempt to mark the centre of where the ball should be.

During its 1970s peak, Spot the Ball attracted around three million participants each week, all vying for a jackpot of £250,000 – a prize that was seldom claimed due to the difficulty of pinpointing the ball's exact centre. Interest waned after the National Lottery's introduction in 1994, but variations of the game persist online.

Despite the decline in popularity, lifelong Nottingham Forest supporter Ray Sporton never missed sending his weekly entry, and his persistence paid off in 2007 when he won a staggering £20,000 by placing his cross in the perfect spot. Speaking at the time, the Nottingham local expressed his joy, saying: "I was absolutely delighted when I got the call ... it felt fantastic to win!"

His victory was made even sweeter when he was invited to the City Ground to collect his cheque and a bottle of champagne.

At that time, he shared his plans: "I think I will be treating myself to a new bathroom suite and I have already booked my first holiday – a cruise!"

The Nottingham Post introduced its own version of the popular game, Find The Ball, in 1966. Over the next three decades, winners received thousands of pounds in prizes, new cars, and even a new house.

In 1973, Len Thornton, a Find The Ball winner, won an impressive prize - a new house worth £9,500 from Standen Homes - with this type of home worth significantly more in today's housing market.

Every winner was featured in the Post, and more often than not, a celebrity was enlisted to present the biggest prizes. Terry Lowe of Hucknall received the keys to a brand new Ford Fiesta from comedy star John Inman in 1979.

In July 1976 Mrs Elli Meliou from Gladstone Street, Sherwood Rise, won £5,000 and collected her cheque from top comedy group The Grumbleweeds.

And in 1975 West Bridgford-born entertainer Leslie Crowther presented cheques for £5,500 each to Pat Payne and Frank Wakefield.

However, these wins were overshadowed in 1985 when Carole Holmes won the Post's largest jackpot, a staggering £59,500 (today worth more than £117,000). Carole, a home machinist, and her husband Vic, 42, a self-employed builder, along with their daughter Tracey, celebrated their success at their Bestwood Park home by planning a luxury holiday.

The family attributed their success to a lucky black cat named Fluff. The stray feline wandered into their lives one night and decided to stay, bringing with it what the family believed to be a touch of old black magic.