Lottery winner Maria Murray was "speechless" after scratching off her winning numbers in the local newsagents.

Maria, who is unemployed but occasionally works at a local cafe, bought the scratchcard at Fryers Newsagent in Avonmouth, Bristol on Christmas Eve.

She spent her last £5 on the card and had exchanged Christmas cards with her family, saying she could not afford any presents.

Shop assistant Jagjit Arora said: "Maria came into the shop at 1pm on Christmas Eve with her partner and some friends and asked for a £5 lottery ticket. She scratched it off there and then while she was still in the shop and just stood still completely speechless.

"She showed me the card and said: 'Is it true? Have I really won a million pounds?'

''I said I didn't play the lottery so I wasn't sure but I scanned the card on our machine to check it and then handed it back and said: 'Congratulations'.

''The others were shouting and cheering and jumping around congratulating her but Maria just couldn't believe what had happened.

''Her face was pale and she walked out of the shop and was utterly speechless."

Shopkeeper Mohan Arora: ''It's been unbelievable. We've sold twice as many tickets as normal over the last week.

''Everyone keeps asking where their lucky ticket is. They seem to think we're lucky but actually it's just chance."

Maria, 41, bought the card ''on a whim".

She said: ''It was my last five pounds. It hasn't really sunk in yet that I've won – I don't know what I'll do yet!''

She gave each of her children £300 in cash for Christmas and has pledged to hand them another £100,000.

She plans to buy her council house with her winnings.

Her 17-year-old son Todd added: ''Before the win she got us all a Christmas card but said she couldn't get us anything else because she couldn't afford it.

''After the win we had our normal Christmas meal but Mum gave me and my three sisters £300 each.

"She's buying the house and says she will be giving me and my sisters £100,000 each.''

Maria, from Avonmouth, Bristol, had recently stopped playing the weekly lottery and only decided to buy the winning ticket at the last minute.

Her son said: ''She bought one a week before and won a tenner.

"She bought the scratchcard, scratched it off and she didn't know what to do.

''She passed it to my Dad and he said: 'You've won a million pounds'.

"She was really shocked. She started crying when she knew she had it."

Her son added: ''I will invest £70,000 and with the rest, after I pass my driving test, I will buy a car – either a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo."

The rundown three-bedroom semi in Avonmouth, Bristol, has been empty since she scooped the £1m prize.

Maria is said to be staying with relatives in Doncaster with her mechanic partner Tim Hunt, 48, daughters Terri, 21, Toni , 20, Rikki , 19 and son Todd, 17.

Daughter Terri broke the news to hundreds of friends on social networking site Facebook.

Neighbours said Maria was ''over the moon".

An elderly resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ''She's visiting family in Doncaster at the moment as she needs a bit of time to take it all in and think about how to spend it."

''Her face was pale and she walked out of the shop and was utterly speechless.''

Shopkeeper Mohan Arora: ''It's been unbelievable. We've sold twice as many tickets as normal over the last week.

''Everyone keeps asking where their lucky ticket is. They seem to think we're lucky but actually it's just chance.''

Maria Murray, 41, exchanged Christmas cards with her family but told them she could not afford to buy them any presents – and now plans to buy her council house with her winnings.

After scooping the win she gave each of her children £300 in cash for Christmas and has pledged to hand them another £100,000.

Maria said: ''It was my last five pounds. It hasn't really sunk in yet that I've won – I don't know what I'll do yet!''

Her 17-year-old son Todd added: ''Before the win she got us all a Christmas card but said she couldn't get us anything else because she couldn't afford it.

''After the win we had our normal Christmas meal but Mum gave me and my three sisters £300 each. 'She's buying the house and says she will be giving me and my sisters £100,000 each.''

Maria, from Avonmouth, Bristol, had recently stopped playing the weekly lottery and only decided to buy the winning ticket at the last minute.

Her son said: ''She bought one a week before and won a tenner.

"She bought the scratchcard, scratched it off and she didn't know what to do.

''She passed it to my Dad and he said: 'You've won a million pounds'. She was really shocked. She started crying when she knew she had it.''

Her son added: ''I will invest £70,000 and with the rest, after I pass my driving test, I will buy a car – either a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo.''

The rundown three-bedroom semi in Avonmouth, Bristol, has been empty since she scooped the £1m prize.

Maria is said to be staying with relatives in Doncaster with her mechanic partner Tim Hunt, 48, daughters Terri, 21, Toni , 20, Rikki , 19 and son Todd, 17.

Daughter Terri broke the news to hundreds of friends on social networking site Facebook.

Neighbours said Maria is ''over the moon" but still in shock and not ready to talk about her win.

An elderly resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ''She's visiting family in Doncaster at the moment as she needs a bit of time to take it all in and think about how to spend it."