A CHANCE flutter on the horses this week has scooped a North Tawton man a whopping near £1.4-million at the races — not bad for someone who only goes twice year to the races and used his senior citizen's bus pass to get into the course for free.

Steve Whiteley, a 61- year-old heating engineer, picked six winners on Tuesday in a £2 accumulator on the racecard at Exeter Races.

His accumulator had entered the national Tote Jackpot and the tension must have been really mounting for Steve, as each one of his mostly long-odds choices crossed the line in first place.

With odds of a staggering 879,137 to one, his selection started with Semi-Colon at 2-1; race two Black Phantom came in at 12-1; Ammunition, a 16-1 long shot romped home in the third, while at the same odds Mr Bennett clinched the fourth. With Lundy Sky winning the fifth at 5-1, it all rode on 12-1 Lupita in the sixth.

Steve must have a been tad nervous, for Lupita, written by jockey Jessica Lodge, had never won in a race in 28 attempts.

However, the celebrations began when Lupita galloped home first past the post to make it a day that the former mayor of North Tawton will never forget.

It was indeed a lucky day for Mr Whiteley, because not only did he pocket £1,445,671 on the accumulator but also £300 on other bets that afternoon.

Steve said: 'I'm not a horse racing man.

'I only go twice a year. I'm a heating engineer — well I was!

'I've actually won about £300 betting today as well. The most I have ever won before is about £100!'

How Steve selected his 'super six' he admitted was rather unclear, although he picked out Black Phantom because its jockey Nick Schofield used to live locally and he thought it was worth a punt!

And of the final race featuring Lupita, ridden by Jessica Lodge, he went for the name of the jockey rather than the horse.

He added: 'Why did I pick the last one? Lodge is just a name that sticks in my head. I didn't know anything about her.'

Steve was understandably a very happy man on the day and personally went over to Jessica and Lupita to give them a big thank you for helping him win the jackpot.

It must have been quite a pleasant surprise for his wife Jill when he came home — because she was out at work in the telesales department of a local pet food company, she was not able to be with her husband and his friends at the races that day.

It was certainly a lucky day for the Whiteley household —because it was also Jill's 60th birthday this week.

But her husband had not forgotten — he had already brought her a birthday card for 53p! The odds are good on Jill now getting a pretty decent birthday present!