An astonished punter has told how she scooped a USD 216,817 lottery jackpot on just her third go at playing.

Amazed Aurelia Heiple – from Kinston, a city in the US state of North Carolina – discovered her win when she checked the ticket at the shop she bought it from.

Now she plans to spend some of her newfound fortune on a Chevrolet Camaro car.

Aurelia says the whole store erupted with cheering and dancing when she was told how much she had won at only her third attempt.

She said: “I didn’t know I could move like that. They were all clapping and congratulating me.”

Jessica Trinidad, a worker at the Murphy Express convenience store, said: “We all went nuts. It was crazy.”

Newsflash obtained a statement from the North Carolina Education Lottery on Tuesday, 30th May, saying: “A major celebration broke out in a Kinston convenience store after Aurelia Heiple, a Kinston resident, discovered she was the winner of a USD 216,817 [GBP 175,309] Cash 5 jackpot.

“She bought the USD 1 [GBP 0.80] Quick Pick ticket in the 19th May drawing from Murphy Express on West Vernon Avenue in Kinston.

“When she went back to the store several days later to check her ticket, the clerk told her it was a winner.”

Lottery officials added: “Heiple arrived at lottery headquarters to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home USD 154,482 [GBP 124,905].

“She plans to use her winnings to buy a Chevrolet Camaro and do some investing.”