She's had many reasons to celebrate in her life.

A happy family, a lifelong link with the church and, not least, an MBE for her work with the community.

But now Dalton great-grandmother Maureen Jackson is celebrating again – after scooping a National Lottery win.

Mrs Jackson, who was awarded an MBE for her services to the community, is celebrating after matching five numbers plus the bonus ball to bank £52,389 in the Lotto draw last Saturday. She was one of 17 winners.

Mrs Jackson, 73, who received her MBE from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in November 2004, discovered she’d won while watching the National Lottery Draw on TV with husband Barry, 74, on Saturday night.

Maureen said: “The show had just started and we commented that recent Yorkshire winner Barry Walker, who was appearing on the show, may bring us some good luck.

“As Barry pushed the big red button on the machine, my husband, who is also called Barry, quickly popped outside to check the car was locked.

“I couldn’t believe my eye as one by one my numbers came up!

“I asked Barry to double-check the ticket when he came back inside and he confirmed we had won.

“We weren’t sure of the amount, so I called my grandson, Sean, 23, and asked him to have a look at the National Lottery website and see how much I’d won.

“He texted me later to tell me I’d won £52,389!”

Maureen, who is Catholic and attends mass every Saturday evening, added: “I feel like my prayers have been answered. It really is fantastic news.”

Maureen, who worked as an administrator for Kirklees Council for 30 years, retired at the age of 65. As well as working for the council Maureen dedicated herself to voluntary work within the Dalton community.

Along with her life-long friend Elaine Flynn, she set up the Dalton Interagency Forum, hoping to make the council aware of the deprivation in the area and persuade them to make improvements to create a better place for the community.

Maureen said: “I was very concerned about the young people in the Dalton estate. We have such talented youngsters and budding musicians that I wanted to help.

“I was delighted to receive my MBE, it belongs to the Dalton estate and Elaine as much as it does to me.

“Although I’m retired, I still have links to the council, so people still call as my door is forever open to the community.

“If I can give advice on how to get help I’m only too happy to do so.”

On the shopping list is a new Vauxhall Mokka car for Barry, who in the past has only ever owned second-hand cars.

The winning ticket was bought from the Moldgreen Post Office on Broad Lane.

Her winning numbers from the Lotto draw were 3,5,9,13,17 and the bonus ball was 15. The sixth number was 37 and the jackpot was unclaimed.