A WINNING bookie sipped champagne with family and friends after scooping more then £75,000 on the pools.

Michael Carysforth, 34, has been treated to the celebratory bash at The Moat House Hotel, Blackburn, as part of his big win on Tote Direct - which allows players to enter Vernons Pools through a terminal in betting shops.

After checking the match results he found he had 22 points and decided to claim, thinking his chances of big money were very slim. He got a shock when told he was a major winner.

Michael, from Clayton-le-Moors, runs Carysforth Racing, Johnston Street, Blackburn, said: "I had to sit down.

"I really did think it was a wind-up. Now the realisation is beginning to sink in I am starting to plan how to spend my share of the winnings with my wife Alyson."

Michael's close friend and drinking partner Darrell Walsh, 28, a laminator from Blackburn, will also share in the good fortune.

"Each win I have had over the past ten years has been shared with Darrell and this will be no different," said Michael.

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