£140.000 WIN

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32588, 23 April 1971, Page 9

£140.000 WIN

(N.Z Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, April 22. A lorry-driver working at a quarry in Cornwall drove his vehicle into a lay-by for a few minutes last week to fill in a soccer pools coupon. Today he is the richer by £440,000. Mr Albert Crocker, aged 58, selected the only seven matches to be drawn with scores on Saturday, and these, with one drawn game in which no goals were scored, gave him the maximum number of points possible, 23. No other competitor in Littlewoods Pools equalled his selection, so his NZ97c stake rewarded him with the largest pools win in history. The previous record dividend was £406,761, shared a few weeks ago by a syndicate of 14 Leeds fac-tory-workers.

The previous record figure for a single winner was £339,496, won by a Berkshire housewife in December last year. Her identity was not disclosed.

Mr Crocker earns £lB a week from the quarry firm for which he has worked for 40 years. A close friend commented yesterday: “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap. He’s a wonderful character who really deserves his good fortune. No-one here is the least bit jealous of him. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t want to come back to work in the quarry. Mind you, if he does decide to pack the job in, I’m thinking of applying for the job as his chauffeur.”