Ananova:

A terminally ill man has won £5,000 after betting he would live to see June.

Eight months ago doctors told Jon Matthews, 58, of Milton Keynes: "Don't make plans for Christmas."

But he had already bet £100 that he would survive, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He said: "This time last year I rang William Hill and they gave me odds of 50/1."

Doctors diagnosed meso­thelioma, a form of lung cancer, in April 2006.

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

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

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