It was lucky seven for a 61-year-old Bradford man whose lifetime of betting on horses finally brought him a near-£70,000 jackpot for a stake of just £2.

Barry Holt, of Wibsey, shared a bottle of Champagne yesterday with his wife Evelyn, friends, family - and staff at Ladbrokes bookmakers in Beacon Road, Wibsey, where he had placed a seven-horse accumulator bet on Thursday.

Mr Holt, a retired textile worker who has lived in Bradford all his life, was on holiday at his sister's home in Morecambe when he realised he had won the money.

He said: "I just popped into the betting shop at teatime to see if I had any winners.

"As I looked up at the television screens I thought to myself, I've got some winners here.' "But while I stood there I realised that I had won more. So I asked the girl behind the counter to check it for me.

"I just can't tell you how it feels. I'm still in shock today."

Mr Holt said he has been betting since he was 15 and had a £4,000 win four years ago, but nothing like his £68,924 windfall.

"I am not a big money better," he said. "I only put on a few pounds at a time. I do follow trainers and jockeys, but there is also a little bit of luck involved."

Mr Holt said he would use the money to buy a holiday home for himself and Evelyn in the Lake District.

Mrs Holt, 59, a cleaner, said: "When he first told me I thought it was a joke. Now, I can't take it in."

Oliver McPherson, manager of the Beacon Road Ladbrokes, said: "With an accumulator bet the odds stack up, but usually on a minimal stake you will only win about £200 or £300.

"To win an amount like this is a one-in-a-million chance.

"I've worked here for five years and its the biggest win I've handed out, by a long way."

Jean Wilson, cashier at Ladbrokes, said: "It's great. He's a really lovely man.

"And it's funny because when he puts one of these accumulator bets on the manager often jokes with him that he'll never win a fortune with a small bet. But now he has."