A mother-of-five who scooped the biggest ever EuroMillions jackpot was today expected to speak of her £16.7 million fairytale rags-to-riches story.

Marion Richardson can now afford to swap her three-bedroom council house on Tyneside for millionaires' row.

The divorcee, who is in her 50s, was being joined by members of her family at a top hotel in London's Knightsbridge to celebrate her good fortune.

It has already emerged that the former postal worker had an itchy right hand on the evening of the draw - traditionally a sign of luck and money ''coming in''.

Marion picked the winning numbers 1, 4, 10, 19 and 23 using the dates her children were born and the two Lucky Star numbers 2 and 8 were picked at random.

Since the jackpot win - the sixth biggest single win in Lottery history - she has been keeping a low profile.

Yesterday, there was no answer at her home in the town of Winlaton and neighbours said she had not been seen since scooping the multi-million prize.

Camelot, the company behind EuroMillions, was remaining tight-lipped on the identity of the winner except to confirm she was from Tyneside.

''The winner had an itchy right hand - a sign of good luck and money 'coming in' on the evening of the draw,'' said a Camelot spokeswoman.

''The itch prompted the winner to check her numbers on Teletext.

''As she saw the numbers she knew immediately she had a winning ticket.

The Sun newspaper reported that Ms Richardson was ''pretty shocked'' at landing the fortune.

Her partner, who did not want to be named, told the paper: ''We've had loads of calls from people wishing her luck.

''We're all pretty shocked at the moment.'' Meanwhile, Ms Richardson's neighbours rallied around, saying that it ''could not happen to a nicer person''.

Cheryl Thompson, 31, said: ''I just wish it was me.

''She deserves it. If anyone deserves to win she does. She is a really good friend.'' She said she had not seen her neighbour or her children since Friday afternoon - just hours before the jackpot win.

Another neighbour in the quiet residential street, pensioner Winifred Turner added: ''She's a one in a million woman.''

It is the first time the jackpot has been won in the UK since EuroMillions was launched in February, with other winners coming from France and Spain.

Friday's winning ticket has landed the sixth richest prize in British lottery history, with the biggest jackpot being the £22.6 million won by Mark Gardiner and Paul Maddison, of Hastings, East Sussex, in June 1995.

It costs £1.50 to play EuroMillions, which links the UK's National Lottery to equivalent games in France and Spain.

To win the jackpot, players need to match five main numbers from 1 to 50 - and 2 Lucky Star numbers from 1 to 9.