Lonely heart beats the house

Damien Trinder won the jackpot with a £1 stake

A bachelor left on his own while his friends spent New Year's Eve with their partners popped into a casino and won £146,000 with a £1 bet.

Mechanic Damien Trinder, 26, thought he was in for a quiet night while his friends partied with their girlfriends and wives.

Instead the mechanic from Didcot in Oxfordshire ended up scooping the jackpot at the Reading Sporting Club casino.

Mr Trinder now plans to spend some of his winnings on a trip to world gambling capital Las Vegas and on a new BMW car.

He said: "I had been playing for almost an hour when I won the jackpot. I couldn't believe it and my friends thought it was a wind-up when I phoned and told them.

"I have only been to a casino seven or eight times and the most I have ever won is £40.

"Now the shock has worn off, I am over the moon."