People and Personalities

Jon Matthews, 59, from Milton Keynes, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos, in 2006 and told he had months to live.

He placed two bets, each with a £100 stake at odds of 50/1, that he would be alive in June 2008 and in June 2009.

A third wager will earn him a further £10,000 if he lives until 1 June 2010.

As Jon prepared to collect his second £5,000 cheque he told the BBC: "I'm a very positive mental attitude sort of guy!

"Some people just give up, and I didn't intend to do that - I intend to last as long as I can!"

Listen to the full interview with Jon Matthews here:

Mr Matthews has said he plans to give away most of his winnings to charities, including the cancer charity Macmillan.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We had never been asked to accept a bet of this nature before.

"But as Jon approached us directly and was adamant that it would give him an additional incentive to battle his illness, we offered him the bets he wanted.

"Never in 30 years in the business have I been so pleased to pay a winning client £10,000, with, I trust, a further £10,000 to come next year."