A DISTRAUGHT victim has lost £25,000 after falling for a Europe-wide Lottery scam which convinced him he had won a fortune.

The 25-year-old Blackburn man took out bank loans, ran up credit card bills and used up savings after being told to send off taxation and processing fees for his £300,000 winnings. He sent the money to five different Spanish bank accounts after bogus officials claiming to represent Spaion's El Gordo Lottery told him he had won more than

505,000 Euros. He was left devastated after contacting local trading standards when the money didn't arrive -- and being told he'd probably seen the last of his cash.

Today, trading standards officers from both Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council revealed they receive dozens of complaints a week about lottery 'scams.'

And they urged other people to learn from the case.

The El Gordo scam is one of a number where unsuspecting victims are told they have been allocated a free ticket as part of European inclusion rules.

The man, who has asked not to be identified, has told local officials how he feels 'really stupid' for falling for the con -- and he is being offered support to help him through his debt crisis.

Chris Allen, from Blackburn with Darwen Council's Trading Standards, said the man's details had been sent to their counterparts in Spain, where investigations into the bogus lottery agents were ongoing.

The Office of Fair Trading has also issued warnings about the conmen, who purport to be agents from the El Gordo lottery, Spain's official national lottery.

Mr Allen said: "This man is absolutely gutted by what has happened, but he has said that it seemed all very plausible and he thought that he had actually won.

"We are helping him in any way we can at the moment but really, both he and we want to get the message out that it is nothing more than a scam.

"We get calls every week from people who have been contacted by email or by letter, being told they had won a foreign lottery but to access the cash, they need to send out money to cover various costs.

"Of course, they never actually see the money and end up desperately out of pocket."

Mr Allen revealed that staff at his office had received similar offers via e-mail -- to their terminals within trading standards.

Mr Allen added: "Our victim's details have been passed on to the Spanish authorities."

How can we stop the high-tech conmen? Analysis tomorrow