HUNDREDS of Bolton punters who bet on Manchester United to win the League have cashed in thousands on a bookie's 'generosity'.

Seven weeks ago bookmaker Fred Done astounded soccer pundits when he announced he wouldn't take any more bets on United winning the Premiership and agreed to pay-out on bets that had already been made.

At that point the Red Devils seemed to have an unassailable lead in the Premier League.

But this weekend they were finally kicked off top spot by rivals Arsenal as the race for the Championship reaches it's climax.

And with The Gunners needing just nine points from five games it looks like the London team has shot a hole in Mr Done's predictions.

Now the North-west bookie, who owns four betting shops in Bolton as part of his huge business, admits the miscalculation has cost him as much as £50,000.

And the town's tipsters have added to his misery with estimations that Bolton punters picked up as much as £6,000 between them.

Paul Quigley, studio manager at Done Bookmakers' headquarters, revealed that two Bolton tipsters have pocketed a total of nearly £1,400.

He added: "We took a stance on the United bet and had to stand by it. At least it has well and truly put us on the map.

"I know we've been notified about a couple of bets that were paid out, one about £500 and the other about £850 but we've not been told about all the smaller pay-outs.

"I would expect that going on the percentage of trade in and around Bolton, punters in the town could have taken up to £6,000.

"A lot of soccer punters are not regular customers and we won't see them again till the start of next season. We don't expect to get the £50,000 back and we must accept that that money is now dead."

Linda Dickie, the manager of Done Bookmakers in Market Street, Little Lever, said there had been a steady stream of people into the shop to claim their winnings.

She added: "We've had quite a few people in but I can't remember what the biggest pay-out has been."

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