50p punter wins £1m on birthday

A fertiliser salesman from North Yorkshire has come forward to claim his £1m winnings - amassed through a 50p eight horse accumulator bet.

Fred Craggs, from Thirsk, found he hit the bonanza on his 60th birthday at the weekend, but sat through a family meal without telling anyone.
He beat odds of two million to one when all his horses came home on Saturday.
A William Hill spokesman said the bet was "the most amazing ever" since betting shops were made legal in 1961.

Mr Craggs placed his bet last Friday in a William Hill shop in Thirsk.
He needed all eight horses to win - from the first horse called Isn't That Lucky, to the last horse called A Dream Come True.
But he only discovered he was a millionaire when he went to place another bet in Bedale on Saturday.
"I had quite a glowing feeling in the shop but none of the other customers seemed to notice."

"I've never spent more than the price of a packet of cigarettes on a bet so it is very surprising that I won this much money."

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We are delighted that the wait to discover the identity of our fortunate client is now over, and that he has been in touch and arranged to receive his winning cheque - we can now put him forward for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records."
And he added: "Mr Craggs does follow form, but also uses his own instinct to make his final selections - that instinct was certainly spot on this occasion."