Soldier wins £13.2 million prize from 25p bet

Jon Heywood says he will use the money to buy' the best possible medical treatment' for his father

Jon Heywood won £13,213,838.68 from a 25p stake (PA)

A British soldier has become an overnight multimillionaire after winning more than £13.2 million on a 25p stake.

Jon Heywood, who has toured Afghanistan, won the fortune after placing his bet online.

And after a tough year in which the 26-year-old from Cheshire saw his grandfather die, he has vowed that the first thing he will buy is the “best possible medical treatment” for his father who is awaiting a heart and lung transplant.

However, Mr Heywood does have his eye one extravagant purchase, and is hoping to spend some of the £13,213,838.68 jackpot he won on Betway.com on a luxury car.

He said: “I couldn't believe that I'd won all this money at the time - and it still hasn't sunk in.

“It's amazing. The first thing I will spend it on is the best possible medical treatment for my dad. That's more important than anything. Family comes first and I'd give all this money back for him to be healthy again.”

Mr Heywood also plans to pay for his relatives to go on a Mediterranean cruise, but the Formula 1 fan does have his eye on one indulgence for himself.

He added: “I'm trying not to get carried away and I really don't know what else I'm going to buy with the money, apart from a yellow Bentley Continental GT.

“I never even dreamed of driving a Bentley, let alone owning one. I've got a Fiat Punto at the moment.”

He won the huge prize when playing Microgaming's Mega Moolah game late on October 6, but had to keep the win quiet for three days and even went to work the following day.

Alan Alger, a Betway spokesman, said: “We couldn't be happier for Jon - he's an incredibly nice guy and his family will benefit immensely from his huge win.”

The life-changing prize is also set to be a world record for the largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game.

Thanks to a euro-to-pound exchange rate of 1.3531 at the time of the win, it is worth a whopping 17,879,645.12 euros, beating the previous landmark of 17,861,813 euros, set in Finland in 2013.