AN Army chef who won thousands of pounds from a £4 bet is planning to spend his windfall on a house in Darlington.

Mark Simmons, 24, collected the £164,776 pay-out after predicting the winners of 18 football matches, finishing with Manchester United's victory over Everton on Monday.

It is believed the father-of-one, serving with 19 Regiment, Royal Artillery, in Colchester, Essex, is on his way to Slovakia to see if he can predict the result of England's European Championship qualifying match tomorrow.

Mark placed his winning bet in Colchester on Saturday. Yesterday he said he would return to his family's roots to spend his new found fortune in the North-East.

He wants to buy a house in Darlington for his wife, Melanie, 23, and two-year-old daughter, Katie, and has already started looking for a property.

He said: "Melanie knew what was riding on the United game and we spoke on the phone as soon as the final whistle sounded.

"She was ecstatic. I haven't had a chance to talk to her about cars or holidays yet, she's been too busy touring estate agents."

Mark's win hinged on the result of Monday's game at Old Trafford and until the 86th minute, when Scholes started a three-goal run for Manchester United, he stood to win nothing.

He said: "It was the longest 86 minutes of my life. I was that wound up I couldn't even drink a drop of beer. It's a hell of a lot of money when you're on Army wages, but I won't be jacking in the day job. I love the Army life too much."

Dave Greenwood, of Ladbrokes, said: "We believe Mark's win is the biggest-ever payout on a football accumulator bet."

All eyes will now be on the Doncaster Rovers fan's predictions for England's game on Saturday.