A WOMAN who scooped nearly £3m in a Lotto jackpot win described last night how she calmed her nerves by having a cup of tea.

Catherine Brown, from Durham, had a brew with her daughter, Deborah, 25, after her only child rushed to her home after being told the good news.

The former shopworker suffers from epilepsy and was living off a disability allowance before winning £2,889,926 when her numbers - 6, 11, 12, 13, 36, 42 - were drawn last Wednesday.

She is now planning to fulfil a lifelong dream of taking a Caribbean cruise with family members.

Mrs Brown, a divorcee who was adopted as a child by her aunt and uncle, said: "I got out my ticket on Thursday morning and looked at the paper I had written the numbers on.

"I could not believe it - they were the same numbers.

"I quickly got dressed and ran down to see my friend; she also checked the numbers and confirmed they were the same.

"I went home and phoned my daughter. I said to her 'you had better sit down, I've just won the jackpot'.

"She nearly dropped the phone and came straight round. The first thing we did was have a cup of tea to calm ourselves down."

Mrs Brown added: "Troy, my dog, was really excited, he could obviously sense that something important had happened."

Top of the shopping list for the 51-year-old is the cruise with her daughter and aunt Betty, 91.

Deborah will also be taking driving lessons and getting a new Volkswagen Beetle.