An American teenager bagged an eye-watering GBP 498,000 on a lottery ticket her pal gave her for Christmas.

The unnamed prize-winner – from Detroit, Michigan – told lottery officials: “I was out with a friend, and he purchased a Lucky 7’s Fast Cash ticket while we were at the gas station.

“He handed the ticket to me and said he bought it for me because he wanted to get me a little something as an early Christmas gift.”

The 19-year-old told of her elation when she realised she had scooped the top prize.

She said: “We looked the ticket over together and when we saw I’d won the jackpot, we started screaming and jumping up and down!

“We looked the ticket over several times because we couldn’t believe it was real. I called my family right away to tell them the good news.”

Michigan Lottery Connect said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “A Detroit woman received the gift of a lifetime when she won a $613,848 Lucky 7’s Fast Cash jackpot on a ticket she received as an early Christmas gift.

“The player’s friend purchased the winning ticket at the Mobil gas station, located at 6500 Van Dyke Road in Detroit.

“The 19-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim her prize. She plans to save her winnings.”