A MAN was left red-faced when he rang all his pals to tell them he had scooped a massive £50k prize – as it turned out he only won £6.

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

The lucky player thought his life was about to change forever when he won the Saturday game – but the win turned out to be much less.

The woman at the checkout told him his winnings could not be payed out and he would have to contact Camelot.

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

Shocked Dean then realised this message was usually given for wins of at least £50k.

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He said: “I’d gone in to do a bit of shopping and I thought I’d check to see how I’d gone on in the previous Saturday’s draw.

"All the other staff applauded me.

"The receipt said I’d won a prize, that the store would not be able to pay it out and that I should contact Camelot immediately.”

Excited Dean rang all his friends and family to tell them he had hit the eye-watering jackpot.

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Without checking his numbers against the draw, he started to plan how to splash the whooping cash.

He said: "I didn’t sleep because I was so excited. My house is like a building site at the moment so that was the first thing that I decided to spend my winnings on.

"Then I decided to treat the family to a luxury holiday to Barbados.

"I spoke to the checkout girl and gave her the serial number of the ticket."

But his luck didn't last long as he realised he had only won a few quid.

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

Calling the agency the next morning, he was told the message was usually given to all the players regardless of the win amount.

Sad Dean added: "When I had purchased the ticket I had bought one for both the Saturday and Wednesday draw.

"As the Wednesday draw was in the process of taking place, it looks like this was an automated message instead which would have been given for any win. I was absolutely gutted.

"I was absolutely gutted. It is back to the drawing board now."

A spokesman for Camelot explained the unlucky man couldn't receive his cash because it was during a "draw break" – when National Lottery sales are suspended.

A spokesman for Camelot said: "The prize couldn’t be paid out at that time – because the ticket was still entered into a 'live' draw – so a validation slip was printed instead.

"To clarify, this generic slip is used for a number of scenarios – it's not exclusively used for high-tier prizes."

Red-faced Dean said he was relieved he had the day off on Thursday so he didn't have to face his colleagues.

He said: "I just watched television and my mum made me some comfort food, which wasn't much comfort."

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

Aishwarya posted the moment on TikTok, and said she was initially speechless when she thought she'd won.

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Meanwhile, a man told of his devastation at believing he'd scooped the £184million EuroMillions jackpot – only to discover he'd won £5.

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

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