KATE Hibbert was just a few furlongs away from becoming a very rich woman.

The 40-year-old of Norfolk Close, Clayton-le-Moors, backed five out of six winners in a new horse racing accumulator bet and scooped £7,000.

But she missed out on at least £50,000 because she was ill and failed to notice her regular tip Lady In Waiting was one of the runners - and it won the first race.

Kate went in for the new Scoop 6 bet, which has a jackpot for six straight winners on Channel Four's Saturday televised races.

But she had to be content with a £7,000 pay out on a £2.18 stake after her hopes of winning the jackpot collapsed with the first race.

She was thrilled with the four-figure sum to begin with - until she realised her other five horses had won and she had missed out on the biggest pay day of her life.

And a twist in the 'tail' - the horse which let Kate down by finishing third in the 2.55pm at Newmarket was called All Our Hope.

On top of the jackpot, she would have been invited to appear on Channel Four and pick another horse on air which could have landed her the same amount of cash again.

Kate said: "I usually bet on Lady In Waiting, which won the first race - but I missed it because I was ill and didn't study the form. "I was shocked at winning £7,000, then at being told what I missed out on, but I'm coming to terms with it now.

"I've only done this bet for the last three weeks - and I've had five winners out of six every time, so hopefully I can go one better next time!"

Kate is hoping to use the money to take daughters Lindsay, Layla and Natasha to Paris.

Lindsay suffers from the bowel disorder Crohn's Disease and Kate wants to donate the rest towards research into the condition.

Syd Rawcliffe, manager of bookies Clayton Racing in the town, where Kate placed the bet, said: "She also had a non-runner, so she wasn't sure if four or five had come in.

"But that money from the non runner went on a favourite which came in first - so her only let down was All Our Hope.

"She didn't look too despondent when I told her what she'd missed but it might sink in.

"We're all a bit gutted because we would have got a bonus pay-out of £20,000 between us as well!"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.