I called all my friends to tell them I’d won a £50,000 lottery prize – I got red-faced

A MAN was left red-faced when he called all his friends to tell them he had won a huge £50,000 prize – it turned out he had only won £6.

Lottery player Dean Smethurst bought the National Lottery ticket from Tesco a few years ago.

The lucky player thought his life would change forever when he won Saturday’s match, but the victory turned out to be much less.

The woman at the cash register told him that his winnings could not be cashed out and that he had to contact Camelot.

The lotto hopeful rushed to check the terms and conditions on their website.

Shocked, Dean then realized that this message was usually given for winnings of at least £50,000.

He said: “I’d gone in to do some shopping and thought I’d see how the draw the previous Saturday went.

‘All the other staff were applauding me.

“The receipt stated that I had won a prize, that the store would not be able to pay it out and that I should contact Camelot immediately.”

Excitedly, Dean called all his friends and family to tell them he had won the eye-watering jackpot.

Without comparing his numbers against the draw, he started thinking about how he would spend the whooping money.

He said, “I didn’t sleep because I was so excited. My house is currently a building site, so that was the first thing I decided to spend my winnings on.

“Then I decided to treat the family to one luxury holiday to Barbados.

“I spoke to the cashier and gave her the serial number of the ticket.”

But his happiness did not last long as he realized he had only gained a few pounds.

The man was left devastated when his win actually turned out to be three lucky dips in a game worth just £2 each.

When he called the office the next morning, he was told that the message was usually passed to all players, regardless of the amount won.

Sad Dean added: “When I bought the ticket I bought one for both Saturday and Wednesday draws.

“Since Wednesday’s draw was in progress, it appears this was an automatic message that would be given with each win. I was absolutely gutted.

“I was absolutely devastated. It’s back to the drawing board now.”

A spokesperson for Camelot explained that the unfortunate man was unable to receive his money because it was during a “draw break” – when National Lottery sales are suspended.

A spokesperson for Camelot said: “The prize could not be paid out at the time – as the ticket was still in a ‘live’ draw – so a validation form was printed instead.

“To clarify, this generic slip is used for a number of scenarios – it is not used exclusively for high-level pricing.”

The red-faced Dean said he was relieved to have the day off on Thursday so he wouldn’t have to face his colleagues.

He said, ‘I just looked television and my mother made me some comfort food, which wasn’t much comfort.”

It comes as a lotto hopeful was left devastated when she thought she had won a £76million lottery jackpot before losing it in a flash.

Posting the moment on TikTok, Aishwarya said she was initially speechless when she thought she had won.

Meanwhile, a man has told of his devastation when he believed he had won the £184 million EuroMillions jackpot, only to discover he had won £5.

TikToker Luke received a “good news” email from lottery bosses and let his imagination run wild.