TALK about the luck of the Irish!

Pensioner Reginald Pope thought he had found a pot of gold at the end of an internet rainbow when an email telling him he had won the Irish Lottery appeared in his inbox on Monday.

But the savvy 71-year-old former valeter from Salendine Nook checked out the details and discovered the electronic message was a hoax - aiming at parting him from his cash and personal details.

Mr Pope, who has been online for five years, said: "You get so many of these things.

"I had a look and it seems I'm going to have to wait to become a millionaire."

The fake email told Mr Pope, who lives with his wife Gwendoline, that he had scooped an amazing jackpot of 1,982,971 euros - roughly £1.3m - after being randomly selected.

The only catch was Mr Pope had to send off his personal details and would have to pay an unspecified amount to claim his fortune.

Mr Pope added: "I don't want anybody to be caught out by this."

A spokesman for the official Irish National Lottery said: "It has come to our attention that members of the public have received correspondence by email or letter purporting to come from the Irish National Lottery advising them that they have won a substantial amount of money.

"Such correspondence often requests the addressee's personal and bank details.

"The Irish National Lottery never notifies prize winners in this manner.

"To win and claim a prize in the Irish National Lottery you must be in possession of a prize winning ticket.

"We advise people not to respond to any such correspondence."