Betfred Big Winner: Chicken factory worker scoops £50k on 49s Lotto

A chicken factory worker has scooped £50k from a £1 bet on the 49s Numbers Lotto.

Betfred regular Marcelino Lopes Soares hit the jackpot on the popular offering and now intends to reunite with his wife in his native East Timor.

The 32-year-old also plans to buy a new family home on the Southeast Asian island, which is over 8k miles away from the UK, as well as a greengrocery shop.

Marcelino (pictured below), a father-of-one, has been sending money back to his wife from his £600-a-week job doing shifts at the Lincoln factory.

But after his good fortune at Betfred, the new year spells a new start.

He said: "Betfred has literally changed everything for me and my family. My wife is so happy about this big win as she has been living with my parents in East Timor until we could afford something of our own which has now happened.

"We'll be getting a new four-bedroom house and a shop selling homegrown goods. What a brilliant new year to look forward to."

Marcelino took less than a minute to randomly select the numbers 4, 7, 19, 20 and 44 for his £1 accumulator placed at the Betfred shop on High Street, Lincoln.

He added: "I have won before on Betfred's Bonus King Bingo, but nothing like this amount.

"I was born in East Timor and left when I was very young. Now I can go back and build a new house and set up in business. One hundred per cent my life has changed thanks to Betfred."

Betfred boss Fred Done said:

"I feel so privileged to be in a position to help Marcelino, a regular and popular customer of ours.

"It's remarkable that a £1 bet has enabled him and his family to have a much brighter future from 2025 onwards."