CREWE engineer Alistair Lee earned a £5,000 Christmas present after betting he could lose 100lbs by Christmas.

The 28-year-old overcame pneumonia to cash in on a £50 stake at a 100-1 with William Hill to lose a third of his body weight.

After falling ill at the start of the year, Alistair lost all the weight with an exercise and healthy eating regime in just three months.

His waistline plunged from 52 inches to 38 inches and he went from 23st 2lbs to 15st – a stone below his 100lbs target weight.

He said: “I fell ill with pneumonia at the start of the year and was unable to do anything for about six weeks.

“I ended up in hospital for three to four weeks with a lump in my chest that needed a drain fitting.

“It was only at the end of August that I was fit enough to start exercising properly and I started with a Slimming World diet for the first eight weeks.”

Alistair spent one to three hours a day in the gym doing circuit training and walked 40 minutes daily with a 60lbs pack on his back.

William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “When he called to say he had succeeded we were flabbergasted, this is an amazing achievement and he deserves his winnings.