National Lottery participant’s £50,000 jackpot goals crushed to £6 in devastating mix-up

Dean Smethurst couldn’t sleep after believing he had won a life-changing sum of money on the Lotto – but his dreams were shattered after a heartbreaking phone call

A National Lottery player was left devastated after thinking they’d scooped a £50,000 jackpot, only to find out their winnings were significantly less. Dean Smethurst, who played the Lotto under former operator Camelot in 2023, had big plans for his supposed windfall.

Mr Smethurst purchased his ticket from a Tesco in Farnworth, Lancashire, and was overjoyed when a message at the till indicated he had won. However, due to the size of the prize, it couldn’t be paid out immediately.

He explained: “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. The receipt said I’d won a prize the store would not be able to pay out and that I should contact Camelot immediately.”

The store staff even applauded him, adding to his excitement. Unable to sleep due to the thrill, Dean began planning how to spend his winnings, with home renovations and a luxury family holiday to Barbados on the cards.

However, his dreams came crashing down when he discovered his actual winnings amounted to a mere £6, reports Birmingham Live.

The player attempted to claim a prize during a ‘draw break’, when National Lottery sales are suspended while a draw takes place. 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.

This generic slip is used for a number of scenarios – it’s not exclusively used for high-tier prizes. He said: “I never thought to check my numbers, I didn’t think a company as large as Camelot could have got it wrong, I didn’t understand.”

Dean said: “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.

Dejectedly, he said: “I was absolutely gutted, It is back to the drawing board now.”

To shrug off the mishap, Dean revealed: “I just watched television and my mum made me some comfort food, which wasn’t much comfort.”

Camelot has now been taken over by Allwyn as the Lotto operator. In a boost for players playing in 2025, Allwyn says: “We make draw results available via numerous sources, including the National Lottery website, official National Lottery apps, the BBC Red Button, etc.

“So, players can quickly and easily check their numbers using one of the many ways available to them.”