Luck can be fickle, but for 85-year-old Janus Wagonback, it is certainly on his side. The Nottinghamshire grandfather recently won £2,700.

This is not a ground-breaking amount, but what is incredible is that his original stake was just 3p. Janus made the bet on a 10-match accumulator at a bookmaker in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

This included all his matches ending in a draw, encompassing Millwall’s home tie with Preston North End, the Dundee derby and a World Cup qualifier between Lebanon and Iraq.

Unsurprisingly the odds of this happening were high – nearly 90,000-1. So, it was a surprise to Janus, known locally as George, to win such a significant bet.

He said the small amount was “basically loose change that I had in my pocket. I’ve had some significant wins on the football over the years, much bigger than this one.

“I didn’t know I’d won until I checked the paper the next day. I did feel good but can’t jump around much these days – only little jumps.”

The 3p bet was smaller than the minimum stake of 5p usually allowed by Betfred, but it was happy to make an exception as George is a regular at the bookmakers.

Company boss Fred Done said: “I’ve been in this business for over 50 years and cannot remember anyone winning so much from just three pence,” he said.