Lottery bosses have re-educated shopkeepers after a Bradford man was wrongly told £770 in scratch card winnings had already been claimed.

Christopher Clough, 41, of Greengates, was over the moon when he discovered he had won the sum on a Diamond 7s scratch card, bought at the Co-op’s Idle store.

Mr Clough, an HGV driver, said: “My wife didn’t believe me so I went home to show her. I couldn’t drive hardly, I was shaking like a leaf. I had been one ball off winning £450 in the Euro Millions for the past three weeks so it was time my luck changed.”

But when Mr Clough went to collect his winnings at Sainsbury’s in Greengates, he was told the card had already been cashed and the prize money claimed.

He took the card back to the Co-op, only to be told again that the money had been claimed.

He said: “The cashier at Sainsbury’s said it had already been cashed so I took it back to the original shop. The duty manager there also said it had been cashed. I said it couldn’t have been as I had only just bought it.”

A call to National Lottery operator Camelot from the store’s manager also appeared to confirm the money had been claimed, Mr Clough said.

But the company was determined to resolve the problem and sent its North of England security investigator to his home yesterday.

The investigator said the winnings were above the lottery’s £500 limit for collection at a supermarket so could only be claimed at a post office, which had caused the confusion.

A spokesman for Camelot said: “In this case, the prize amount exceeded the pay out limit for both retailers. As a result the messages displayed on the terminal screens were misinterpreted and unfortunately the player was given incorrect information.

“We have contacted both the retailers to ensure their staff understand the prize pay-out process in future and are delighted that the player has been able to collect his winnings.

“If anyone believes they have a valid winning ticket which they are unable to validate in store, they should sent it to our Prize Payout Department who will determine if the ticket is a winner – and pay out any legitimate prize.”

Mr Clough, who plans to spend his winnings on a holiday with his wife at Butlins in Skegness, said: “I feel a lot better now. It’s a lot of money to us.”

Meanwhile, a Lotto jackpot prize of £777,644 from a draw on February 6 remains unclaimed. The winning ticket was bought in the Leeds area, a National Lottery spokesman said. The ticket-holder has until 5.30pm on August 5 to claim their winnings.