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A cash-strapped mum thought she had scooped up to £30,000 on the postcode lottery - but it turned out to be a tenner.

Dawn Rivers thought Christmas had come early when she received a text saying she had been lucky enough to bag a cash prize on the People's Postcode Lottery on December 24.

The 63-year-old, who works as a part-time cleaner, saw the message with the unspecified £ sign and assumed she was due a visit from the postcode lottery as seen in the advert.

Having played for three years, she planned out how she would spend every penny - including making promises to help her daughter out when the money came in.

(Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

The mum would even dress herself ready every morning at her Bournville home in wait of the famed postcode lottery visit alongside the big colourful cheque.

But as she called up to check on the situation on January 4, call handlers at the postcode lottery said all she would be cashing in was a meagre £10.

A People’s Postcode Lottery spokesperson admitted there had been a technical fault with her text - meaning it did not display the value of her win - just a £ sign.

They told BirminghamLive that if Dawn had followed the link on the text, she would have learned the amount was £10 - however, Dawn says she didn't know how to use the technology.

How does the People's Postcode Lottery work? According to the website's frequently asked questions, this is how the lottery works. What does my ticket play for? Your ticket plays for prizes every day of the week. It plays in Saturday and Sunday Street Prize draws, for a £30,000 prize. Monday to Sunday, your ticket could win £1,000 each day in the Daily Prize. Every month, we also have a £3 Million Postcode Millions draw and your ticket plays for a share of a £3 Million cash prize fund.​ To find out more, visit our How It Works page. How can I tell if I'm a winner? You can find out the results by: Checking out the Winners section on the website.

Calling us on freephone number 0808 109 8765. Winners are notified by email, SMS message, mail or phonecall depending on the prize you won. For our big winners, of course, we'll see you in person! We recommend that players register an email address with us and keep their address and telephone details up to date, to ensure they can be notified of any prize wins. To update any of your contact details, please give our Customer Experience staff a call on 0808 109 8765. When will I receive my prize money? If you pay by Direct Debit or if you signed up by other payment methods but have already registered your bank account details with us, your prize money will be transferred to your bank account within 28 days. If you haven’t registered your bank details with us yet, please ring us on freephone number 0808 109 8765 and we can arrange to pay your winnings.

"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," she explained.

"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 that advertised for three years now.

"Well thats the advert, 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," she told BirminghamLive.

"I was so excited to have a bit of money to play with, I had already spent it in my head. Buying some extra things for the house. I told my daughter I would help her out after Christmas.

"I got dressed every morning waiting for the postcode lottery to come to my door. It makes you feel sick when at the end of it you haven't got it. That's what's really annoyed me."

A spokesperson for the lottery said it never made reference to a big win and provided a link detailing the £10 win within the text.

(Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

When asked if she clicked through, Mrs Rivers said she wasn't "good at using technology" and hadn't been able to use the link.

She added: "She said you've won £10, I almost felt like telling her where to stick it you know.

"They have put me £10 in my bank. I rang and spoke to the manager. He just said that he is sorry.

"I feel absolutely let down. They said it was an error. I said: 'Why didn't you tell me, why didn't you text me back, why did you let me think all over Christmas that I had something to look forward to and at the end of it you've took it from me?'

"It doesn't make sense."

(Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

A spokesperson for People’s Postcode Lottery said: “The winners of our biggest prizes, such as Postcode Millions or £30,000 a day, are always contacted in person and may also be visited by a Postcode Lottery ambassador. This is reflected in our marketing.

“Text alerts are only used to notify players of smaller wins.

"There was no error in the drawing, distribution or notification of prizes. A technical fault meant that in this instance, the value of the £10 prize was not stated within the text itself but recipients could still click the link included to confirm the value of their win.

“Our customer experience team confirmed the situation on two occasions and we remain in contact with the player concerned.”