Punter hits rich seam

A Coral customer in the Basingstoke area struck lucky inyesterday's first 49's draw, the big bookmakers response to the National Lottery. The man, a regular customer, placed a bet of 50p on five numbers coming out of the drum in the game set up by Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral, and five minutes later he was pounds 50,000 richer.

The odds against someone selecting five of the six numbers drawn are 99,999-1. The customer watched the draw live in the Coral betting shop and left with a wry smile after his final number popped out.