Cash machine windfall as ATM mistakenly dispenses $100 notes rather than $10s

Cash machine users in Houston hit the jackpot over the weekend after an ATM mistakenly dispensed $100 notes instead of $10s.

Word about the glitch soon spread on social media, after a man posted about striking lucky at the machine, which gave him $100 instead of $20.

A crowd rushed to the Bank of America ATM, where there wer reports of several arguments and even fights breaking out among people lining up to take advantage of the free money.

The Harris County Sheriff's Department said officers were called to the scene at around 11pm to secure the ATM, which carried on dispensing the large notes for around two hours.

Bank of America released a statement on Monday blaming the error on a vendor: "This was an incident at a single ATM in Houston caused when a vendor incorrectly loaded $100 bills in place of $10 bills.

"The good news is, customers will be able to keep the additional money dispensed."

Bank of America did not give an estimate of how many people received the $100 bills in error or how much money was mistakenly handed out.