A Bristol man won £65,000 by picking the first three horses home in the Grand National.

Jason Darmody's horses had an 11,848-to-one chance of coming in the top three in Saturday's race.

His winnings are thought to be the biggest payout from this year's race.

Mr Darmody, 39, of Hotwell Road, who has only placed a bet twice in the last 10 years, said he had only made the £30 gamble because his girlfriend was holding a Grand National party and he wanted to get involved.

He backed the Post's top tip, Mon Mome, as well as Comply or Die and My Will, which finished first, second and third respectively. Bookmakers William Hill said the win had an 11,848-to-one chance of coming in and was the biggest the company was aware of.

Mr Darmody said: "I did what is called a combination tri-sector, I picked three horses to come in the top three but in any order. I wanted to bet £5 and because there were six different permutations it cost £30.

"My friend had been emailing some tips but when I went down to Coral on Whiteladies Road to make the bet I couldn't remember the names. I picked Mon Mome and got 80-1 odds there, then I chose Comply or Die at 7-1 because I'd heard of that and then My Will just stood out."

Mr Darmody then watched the race with friends but could barely believe it when all three horses came through.

He said: "It seemed like an age before it flashed on the screen and I kept looking at my ticket. I was looking at the screen then went, 'Aargh, I've won'.

"We had quite a few drinks that night. The next morning I woke up with a bad headache but then I remembered what had happened and it was a great hangover cure."

His winnings were just over £59,000 but because the race was over 1.1miles he received an extra 10 per cent putting his total prize money at £65,328.10.

He said his biggest worry was losing his ticket.

"I stood in the queue at the bookies and when I got to the front the man said, 'This is really really big'.

"Then I was terrified they would lose the ticket while it was checked.

"I picked up the £3,500 in cash and a cheque for the rest, it was a brilliant feeling.

"The man in the shop said he had never seen such a large payout", he added.

Mr Darmody now plans a holiday in the Caribbean and may look at buying a house. His work at a media organisation will also help give him ideas to spend his winnings.

He said: "Our organisation produces a magazine for millionaires and billionaires and I have had a look through it but I'm not quite in that league."