BRITAIN:A TERMINALLY ill man, who was told he had a few months to live after being diagnosed with cancer, collected £5,000 (€6,365) from the bookmakers yesterday.
Doctors had told Jon Matthews it was unlikely he would live to see Christmas after discovering he had mesothelioma - a cancer linked to asbestos. The 58-year-old from Milton Keynes in southern England placed a £100 bet that he would still be around in a year.
Mr Matthews, diagnosed in April 2006, was told the longest anyone had survived was 25 months.
"Today is 25 months and a week, so I've beaten that record. I do get bad days, obviously, but I'm feeling fine today. Everyone's feeling fine if they're going to pick up five grand," he said.
Half the money will go to the cancer charity Macmillan. "The other half I'm going to spend on myself - booze and fags probably - I don't have anything to lose."
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We had never been asked to accept a bet of this nature before but, as Jon approached us directly and was adamant that it would give him an additional incentive to battle his illness, we offered him the bet he wanted. Never, in 30 years in the business, have I been so pleased to pay a winning client £5,000."
- (Guardian service/PA)