I thought I won lottery jackpot & bragged to family – but error meant it was £10.. I’d already decided how to spend cash

A MUM who thought she had won a lottery jackpot was left shattered after learning it was a technical error.

Dawn Rivers was thrilled when she got a message with a "£" sign assuming she had scooped up to £30,000 - but it turned out to be just £10.

The 63-year-old received a message from People's Postcode Lottery that said she had won a lottery prize - but did not mention the amount.

A thrilled Dawn, who works as a part-time cleaner, assumed she hit the biggest prize and was due to visit from the postcode lottery as seen in the advert.

The mum would even dress up every morning at her home in wait for the lottery people to visit her with a big fat cheque.

But when she called up to check on the situation, she was told that all she would be cashing in was just a tenner.

A technical fault meant the text alert she got didn't show the amount she had won - which turned out to be only a tenner.

You know when you think you have won something and your mouth dries up? That's what happened

Dawn Rivers

Let down by the news back in 2020, Dawn told the : "I've won £10 before, if it's a tenner they just put a little message to say you've won £10 it's gone in your bank.

"But if it's a big one, like ten, twenty, thirty or forty grand, they usually put that on your phone and say they'll come knocking. That's the advert they advertised for three years now.

"If your postcode lottery comes up they'll come knocking on your door, so that's why I was waiting.

"You know when you think you have won something and your mouth dries up? That's what happened."

Having played for more than three years, the cash-strapped mum even planned out how she would spend every penny when the money came in.

";I was so excited to have a bit of money to play with, I had already spent it in my head," she said.

"Buying some extra things for the house. I told my daughter I would help her out after Christmas.