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<\/p>\nTeacher Lydia Barber has gone right to the top of the class after shattering odds of 5,000,000\/1 to win \u00a3250,000 at Betfred.<\/p>\n
The 65-year-old from London won the jackpot from just a 5p stake on Betfred\u2019s Nifty 50 numbers game. But if it hadn\u2019t been for Betfred manager Gillian Caines, Lydia could have missed out entirely on her life-changing win.<\/p>\n
Gillian, who runs the shop in Croydon, ended up chasing Lydia down the street, urging her to come back inside to check her numbers as she was convinced she\u2019d won big. It was only the second time mother-of-one Lydia had been in the Betfred shop, and she only opted for the Nifty50 because that\u2019s what her friend had done seconds earlier.<\/p>\n
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Lydia went for different numbers \u2013 namely 1, 2, 11, 12, 14, 25, 33 and 50 \u2013 than her shopping pal Julian. A week later, on Saturday morning, she returned to Betfred to have another go on the Nifty 50, unaware that she\u2019d already won.<\/p>\n
She explained: \u201cI didn\u2019t quite understand the bet so I didn\u2019t want to mither the staff, including Gillian who was so busy. So, I just put another bet on and set off back home. A few minutes later, I was halfway down the street and Gillian was tapping me on the shoulder telling me I should come back in because I was the big winner.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI owe Gillian so much. She\u2019s a real hero. I thought she was pranking me at first, but she smiled which made me think she wasn\u2019t making it up so I went back into Betfred with her. She explained I had to find my ticket from last week, which I did in my handbag – and then it was checked and I found out I\u2019d won a quarter of a million pounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is difficult to believe, especially as it\u2019s only my second time in the shop \u2013 and me and my husband Charles hardly ever gamble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles added: \u201cWe\u2019re going to go wild tonight! Maybe we\u2019ll have a glass or even a bottle of prosecco \u2013 or possibly we can afford champagne now. She was basically copying Julian\u2019s bet but using different numbers. We just cannot thank Betfred enough\u2026 it\u2019s brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lydia continued: \u201cWe invested in a little house in Tuscany and will be using some of the money to pay for renovations. We also love Scotland and we have been spending a lot of time there as we just love the scenery and the people are so friendly, so we may even think about getting a place up there too.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s so much money, I might even be able to retire earlier from my job. I\u2019m a big spender but Charles will keep an eye on it. I picked the numbers totally at random, and it only took me a couple of minutes \u2013 and now our life has changed forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Store manager Gillian, a 51-year-old mother-of-six, was the hero of the hour, racing out of the shop to tell Lydia she may have a jackpot ticket, she said: \u201cI had it in the back of my mind that the customer we were all looking out for had blonde hair,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen she came to the counter to place a similar bet on Saturday morning, it crossed my mind that it was her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI checked with my colleagues and by the time we convinced ourselves it was her, she\u2019d left, so I chased after her for about 200 yards. I told her she ought to come back to the shop, because she might have won a lot of money. When we checked her ticket we were all so happy for her. She must have thought I was some kind of mad woman, chasing after her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Betfred boss Fred Done said he was \u201ctotally chuffed to bits\u201d that six of Lydia\u2019s eight numbers were drawn to land the Nifty 50 jackpot.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhen we started this game it was aimed at people winning big from small stakes \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what Lydia has done. I reckon I\u2019m the only bookie around where you can win so much from just a 5p unit stake. It\u2019s a tremendous win for Lydia, and I\u2019m confident she and her husband Charles will spend their windfall wisely.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for Gillian, she\u2019s a true Betfred hero. She\u2019s done just what we would expect from one of our great and loyal employees, so I want to say a big thank you to this wonderful shop manager who clearly hasn\u2019t lost her athletic ability!\u201d<\/p>\n
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