Dying man wins 5,000 pounds bet on life!

Melbourne, June 2 : A terminally ill man has collected 5,000 pounds after placing a bet that he would live past doctors' predictions. Eight months ago, doctors had told Jon Matthews it was unlikely he would live to see Christmas after discovering he had mesothelioma - a cancer linked to asbestos.

The 58-year-old, from Milton Keynes, placed a 100 pounds bet that he would still be around in a year.

"This time last year I rang William Hill and they gave me odds of 50/1," The Daily Telegraph quoted Matthews, as saying.

Matthews, who was diagnosed in April 2006, was told the longest anyone had survived was 25 months.

"The longest they knew of anyone surviving it after diagnosis was 25 months. But today is 25 months and a week," he said.

Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill, said: "I've never been so pleased to pay a winning client 5,000 pounds."

Matthews said that he would give half the cash to the Macmillan cancer charity.

ANI