The winner of a £164,000 windfall from a £4 accumulator bet has told how he was left dumbstruck by his good fortune.

Lance Corporal Mark Simmons, a chef with Colchester-based 19 Regiment, Royal Artillery, placed the £4 bet at Ladbrokes in Colchester High Street last weekend and had a nailbiting few days while he waited for the results of 18 football matches.

Now the 24-year-old chef, who is based at Kirkee Barracks, said he plans to place another bet with the bookies this weekend.

He said: "I do an accumulator nearly every week. I just do the football. I have won £400 before and I have got close a few times."

He has no plans to leave the Army but instead he and his wife Melanie are planning to buy a house in the north-east.

He said: "I was looking to buy a house, but now I won't be having a mortgage. I don't have to worry now.

"It's been a whirlwind ever since I watched Manchester United's win on Monday. The first thing I'm going to do is buy a house and then take my daughter to Lapland for Christmas, although I feel like Santa's visited us already."

Commenting for Ladbrokes, Dave Greenwood said: "We're delighted Mark has made it into the history books with the biggest ever payout for a straight football accumulator."

Ladbrokes estimate the odds against winning an accumulator of this kind are 40,000-1.

Lce Corp Simmons said: "I had the results of 15 games come in on the Saturday but I have been close before and I was not too worried. But Liverpool was a dodgy game and then Michael Owen scored."

But everything was in the balance when Manchester Utd faced Everton.

"I was watching the game with a friend here in Colchester and it was very tense watching. My wife Melanie knew and everybody knew about the accumulator."

The score was 0-0 until the 86th minute when Paul Scholes scored a goal.

"I needed Man U to win. It was the longest 86 minutes of my life."

The final score was 3-0 for Man Utd and £164,776 for Lce Corp Simmons.

He said his colleagues have been delighted by his success, and although no-one has asked him for his betting tips yet, he has been asked to buy a few pints.

And he is planning to make his two-year-old daughter Katie's forthcoming birthday extra special.

Lce Corp Simmons has travelled the world during his two-year career with the Army. He has been to Belize, Gibraltar, Oman, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Hungary, Spain and Cyprus.

Published Monday October 14, 2002

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