ENTHUSIASTIC jazz fan Walter Dolphin won the holiday of a lifetime after a flutter on the horses.

A Yankee bet paid for him and girlfriend Sheila Matkin to go to the States for the 31st annual New Orleans Jazzfest.

His usual stake of a few pounds mushroomed to more than £1,000 when all four horses won at long odds.

The next stop for Walter, after he had collected his winnings, was a trip to the travel agent.

He said: "I'd wanted to go to New Orleans all my life.

"It's a pilgrimage the majority of jazz enthusiasts would like to make.

"So I wasn't going to miss the chance, especially as my win coincided with the Jazzfest."

Walter, aged 64, of Ashley Ave, and Sheila, aged 60, of the Firwood Estate, returned to Bolton at the weekend after 15 "unforgettable" days.

Their hotel, in the French Quarter, was handily placed for Basin Street and Bourbon Street, the centre of a city which throbs to the pulsating sounds of jazz music virtually 24 hours-a-day.

The Jazzfest featured an astonishing 60 different bands on each of its eight days, staged in a sprawling tented 'town' on the local racecourse.

The music covered every type of jazz from traditional to ultra-modern, performed by musicians from all over the world, including British rock giant Sting and the American 'Mr Cool', Harry Connick Jnr.

Walter and Sheila were impressed by the efficiency of the organisers of the event which drew attendances of 100,000 each day.

Walter said: "The logistics are mind-boggling. Just think of the organisation it must take to get all those bands together and cater for the huge crowds.

"But the Americans are brilliant at this kind of thing. Everything runs like clockwork and we never saw a hint of trouble.

"The music was fantastic and it's impossible to appreciate just how wonderful an experience it is unless you are actually lucky enough to be there.

"And it cost just £15 per person, per day."

One of the highlights of the couple's trip was a jazz dinner cruise along the Mississippi on the Creole Queen paddle steamer.

Now back at work as an electrician, Walter will be studying the race pages on Saturdays, hoping to repeat his bookie-bashing Yankee.

He said: "We'd love to go back to New Orleans.

"But at least we've been there, seen it, done it.

"And we've got the T-shirts!!!" Walter and Sheila relive their trip of a lifetime to the New Orleans Jazzfest