A retired man who won £30,000 predicting football results can thank a decision to take an afternoon stroll and a Dutch footballer for his big win.

The 60-year-old, who asked not to be named, won the money on a football accumulator last Saturday with bookmaker Coral, after he placed a bet of just £5 at the bookmaker’s Castle Street, Ashford branch.

He put the fiver on a 14-fold, meaning in order to be successful, all 14 of his chosen teams had to win, and returns from the first bet are re-invested onto the consecutive selections to increase the pot.

The teams he predicted would win included Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolves.

“If it wasn’t for us going out for a walk I would never have won. I also felt Newcastle should have had a penalty in stoppage time of my final game but I was not complaining” - the lucky winner

He said: “My wife and I decided to go out for a walk on Saturday afternoon and we passed my local Coral shop.

“I only bet occasionally but I just thought I’d try my luck with a football accumulator. I was following the results throughout the day.”

However, the big payout hinged on the result of the game between Newcastle Utd and Southampton, which didn’t kick off until 5.30pm.

The game saw Southampton’s Dutch winger Eljero Elia, who only joined the south coast club on loan from German club Werder Bremen a fortnight ago, score two goals as Saints claimed a 2-1 win against Newcastle.

Elia put his side ahead after 14 minutes before Newcastle’s Gouffran equalised in the 29th minute.

Elia grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute.

The lucky punter added: “If it wasn’t for us going out for a walk I would never have won. I also felt Newcastle should have had a penalty in stoppage time of my final game but I was not complaining.”

Britain’s bookies suffered their worst ever weekend of football results, costing the industry more than £30 million.

John Hill, from Coral, said: “This has been the worst weekend of football results we have ever encountered.

“Thousands of punters have turned minimal stakes into five-figure pay-outs so we were the toast of many customers.”