AN ELDERLY Gwent widow is warning people to be on their guard after lottery fraudsters targeted her dead husband.

On Friday Joan James, 81, received a letter addressed to her late husband, Walter, who died last July. It said he had won a huge cash prize in an international lottery and asked for his bank details.

The letter, sent from Spain, said Mr James had won £310,559 on December 16 in the Euromillions Lottery International Program.

It asked for copies of identification documents and for information about his bank details.

It also warned him not to tell anyone about the win until after he had received the money.

Mrs James, of Fleur-de-Lys, showed her daughter, Lesley Jones, who realised the letter was a fake.

"It is very distressing whenever she receives a letter for Dad," said Mrs Jones.

"But it is even worse when it is from people trying to steal money."

Mrs James said: "It is very hard when I get letters for him.

"Had it been addressed to me I might have been fooled because I do enter the lottery from time to time. But my husband never did."

She said she wanted to warn people not to send any bank details to the company.

"It would be a terrible thing if someone was to lose money this way."

Her daughter added: "This is a very nasty thing to do. When people get a bit older they sometimes don't realise when people are trying to trick them."

A Gwent Police spokesman said: "We would always encourage people to be cautious if they receive a letter or email stating they have won an amount of money and requesting them to pass on their bank details.

"If anyone has any concerns of this nature they are encouraged to contact police or trading standards."

A spokesman for Camelot, who run the lottery in Britain, said: "To be eligible to win a prize players must place an initial stake, either at a retailer or at www.national-lottery.co.uk.

"We are aware there are organisations that attempt to obtain payment or personal details from people. Lotteries are sometimes used as part of scams."