A Telford schoolboy thought his dreams had come true when he put his bankcard in a cashpoint – and found he apparently had £2 million in his account.

Sixteen-year-old William Bowen immediately withdrew £300 and blew the lot on an iPod and trendy clothes.

But the cashpoint “millionaire” has now got to pay the money back and his mum is furious at the bank for encouraging him to get into debt.

William, of Wildwood, Woodside, was sent the new Visa Electron card through the post by Lloyds TSB.

His mother Joanne Bowen said: “We were really surprised when it arrived.

“I think he used it once as a chip and pin card at a supermarket before going off to the Lloyds TSB cashpoint at Telford Town Centre.

“He withdrew £300 cash, checked the balance in his account and was astonished to see the screen displaying £2 million.

“He had several friends with him and they confirmed the figure. A couple of adults also saw it and one of them reported it to a cashier later in the day.

“I went straight to the bank, discovered the account had been put £300 in arrears and spoke to the manager.

“He said at first it could not be possible. But when he saw the records he said he could not explain it and it must have been a fluke with the ATM.”

Miss Bowen said William, a sixth-form pupil at Thomas Telford School, had wrongly thought his account was something to do with the Government’s education maintenance allowance (EMA) scheme, under which students get £30 a week to encourage them to stay on at school.

“I’m powerless to do anything, but will make sure he pays the money back through his EMA bonus,” she said.

Lloyds TSB spokeswoman Sara Evans said: “We have passed the details to our customer care team who will investigate thoroughly to find out what happened.”

* Lloyds TSB yesterday came under fire for sending new debit cards to children as young as 11. These cards are different to the Visa Electron pre-paid card for which each transaction must be electronically authorised.

By Peter Johnson