Punter scoops £900,000 - for a stake of £2

A hotel worker has scooped nearly £900,000 on a £2 bet - becoming the biggest winner in British betting history.

The unnamed gambler correctly predicted six winners in races on Saturday. It was the Tote Scoop Six event and the stake money should have been shared among the winners. But in this case there was only one.

Amazingly, the man, in his fifties, tipped only one favourite in the six races. He even backed a 20-1 shot in a 27-horse race, along with a horse at 14-1 in the Scottish Grand National, in which there were 28 runners.

According to one bookie, the punter - who placed the bet in Poole, Dorset - enjoyed "phenomenal luck". In the second race his horse, a 9-4 shot, had a clear run to the line after the runaway leader fell at the secondlast fence.

Corals, the firm with whom the bet was placed, said it was the biggest ever single win at a bookmaker's. Spokesman Simon Clare said: "This is immense. We have looked through the records and we think this guy is the biggest single winner in betting shop history. Most bookmakers, with the exception of larger ones like Ladbrokes and William Hill, have a £500,000 maximum payout.

"It is every punter's dream. He has had some phenomenal luck because, apart from one race, he didn't pick horses that were outright favourites.

"It would appear this guy rode his luck with a lot of outsiders. To pick a 20-1 winner in a 27-horse race in extraordinary in itself - but then he did it again in the next race."

The man is believed to have spent Saturday night at his local pub, buying his friends drinks. Mr Clare said: "At the moment the winner wants to remain anonymous. He hasn't received his winnings yet but a cheque will be sent to him in due course."