Punter pays for missed penalty

2006-03-23 13:33

London - A British man missed out on a £1m payday after a penalty blunder scuppered what would have been a remarkable soccer betting coup.

Mick Dunning, 52, placed a two pound stake and forecast 14 correct results in the English football league last weekend at odds of 1 422 987-to-one, The Sun reported Thursday.

Everything hinged on the soccer-mad builder's 15th bet - a draw in the League One game between Blackpool and Port Vale.

With less than a quarter-of-an-hour left, Dunning must have thought his ship had come in when Port Vale were awarded a penalty that would have levelled the scores at 1-1 and given him a £935,000 jackpot.

But Vale midfielder Tony Dinning blasted the spot-kick wide of the post to deprive the father-of-four of a bumper pay-out.

"I'm absolutely gutted. I was the width of a goalpost away from retiring and spending the rest of my life in luxury," said Dunning, who nevertheless picked up £22 315 from the accumulator.

Penalty-taker Dunning meanwhile said he was disappointed to hear of the builder's misfortune.

"If Id have known there was a million quid on it Id have probably scored," he said. "I never miss penalties - I couldn't believe it when the ball went wide."

Ladbrokes spokesperson Robin Hutchison said: "Mick must be Britain's unluckiest punter."

- SAPA