WHOOPING with delight car salesman Steve Moseley danced on his desk at work before telling his boss to stick his job after believing he had scooped £1m on a Lotto scratchcard.

He ordered champagne, threw money to colleagues from his wallet and told his overjoyed girlfriend they had hit the jackpot.

But 45 minutes later Steve was left red faced and grovelling for his job back after discovering he had misread the numbers and won absolutely nothing.

When he thought he had won the jackpot Steve, 36, jumped on his desk quit his job, threw the money he had on him at his colleagues and sent a member of staff out for champagne.

Lifechanging news He then rang girlfriend Theresa Parsons, 27, to tell her the life-changing news and how he was on his way to buy an Aston Martin - the car of his dreams.

However, his jubilation was short lived as the devastated news was delivered when Steve, who worked at Fortnums in Fareham, rang Camelot to claim his millionaire prize - only to be told to look again.

He then saw that he had mistaken a 16 for a 15 on the 24 Karat Gold card for which he paid £5.

"As far as I was concerned all my worries were gone. It was pandemonium with me dancing on the desks and screaming and shouting. The ticket looked like a winner to everyone who saw it," said Steve.

He described how he felt "physically sick" when the news was delivered that he had misread the numbers before going to his his boss Mike Earle to plead for his job back.

"I went from thinking I had a million quid to having to beg for my job back.

"I also had to ring the girlfriend and tell her I was a plonker."

Mr Earle said: "I did feel sorry for him because I could see the numbers did look genuine on the ticket."

Although Steve, who lives in Gosport, was reinstated he left his job a few days later after ribbing from colleagues. He now works for another dealership.

A spokesman for Camelot said they had received a very small number of calls from people who had misread the numbers on the scratchcard.

"We would always advise players to check it is a winner before they take any action.

Telling their boss to stick their job is not a good idea until we have given you your cheque."