A RETIRED lorry driver is warning people to be on their guard after he was targeted in a lottery scam.

The 57-year-old from Winsford received a letter in the post yesterday telling him he had won £900,000.

"I was suspicious at first," said the man, who cares for his mum. "Then I thought it might be genuine. I got in touch with my sister and she told me it was a fraud and not to do a thing."

The man immediately reported the scam to Winsford Police.

The letter told him he had won a lump sum of £900,000 in the Powerball International Postcode Online Lottery, from an address of PO Box 2937 in Melbourne in Australia.

A man called Andrew Hunter was named as a foreign service manager at West Pack Financial Consultants in Hanover Square in London as the contact to claim the prize which does not exist.

The Winsford carer had never entered a postcode lottery and is not on the internet.

"When I sat down and thought about it I realised how stupid I was to think I could have won this money," he said.

"I want to warn other people just in case they receive something like this to be on the look out. Fraudsters are coming up with so many scams. They are preying on vulnerable people."

A spokesman for Cheshire Police advised people to be cautious. He said: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

If you have not entered a competition or lottery and are told you have won, be suspicious. Report it to the police."

Police say fraudulent Spanish, Canadian and Australian lotteries are among the most common reported to prey on people.

Victims of fraud can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.