A RADCLIFFE punter is on top of the world and dreaming of a trip down under after scooping an incredible £75,000 off a single £1 bet.

Jerry Nicholson had a flutter on the Irish Lotto with Betfred last Saturday – and now even has the chance of boosting his winnings to £1 million this Saturday.

The retired 75-year-old joiner entered a special bonus ball competition with the bookmaker, guessing each of the three numbers correctly at odds of 74,000 to one.

He was visiting daughter, Cheryl, when he realised he might have struck lucky.

“I was in Blackpool at my daughter’s and I asked her if she could check the results,” he said.

“She checked and said I hadn’t won. I then asked her to read out the bonus ball numbers and I said, ‘they’re my numbers’.

“I was shaking and my stomach was turning. I knew they were my numbers.

“I had kept the betting slip so I set off back home. When I got in I found the slip and read the numbers. I just couldn’t believe it.”

The father of three picked numbers 44, 30 and 17.

Thirty was picked at random, while 17 is his lucky number and 44 was the number of horse that hadn’t come in during a previous bet.

Mr Nicholson, a loyal customer of Betfred in Market Street, Little Lever, popped into the shop on Monday to claim his winnings.

He was treated to a bottle of champagne and also received a personal phone call from billionaire Betfred co-owner, Fred Done, to congratulate him on his success.

Mr Nicholson left school, aged 15, after attending St John’s in Radcliffe and embarked on a 50-year career in joinery.

He has been married to wife, Christine, for 53 years, and says he has not slept since scooping the cash.

He is now looking forward to spending his winnings and having never been able to afford a new car, he is planning to swap his 14-year-old Renault for a brand new 4x4.

The keen Manchester United fan is also planning a trip to Australia to see his son, Andrew, and granddaughter, Phoebe, in Brisbane.

As part of the Irish Lotto bet with Bet Fred, he now has the opportunity to win a cool one million pounds if he successfully picks the bonus ball in this Saturday’s lotto draw.

Fred Done, the Betfred owner said: "To win so much from such a small stake with the very real prospect of becoming a millionaire is amazing. Good luck on Saturday.”