Plasterer's big gamble helped win the heart of his bride-to-be

Tony Barry endeared himself to staff at the bookies in St Helens because he works as a plasterer and always left dusty footmarks on the shop carpet.

But despite the mess, Tony managed to woo the Betfred shop manager Nichola Aspinall!

Fate intervened to ensure the path to true love was smooth when a rival bookies closer to the building site where Tony was working was closed for the day.

He decided to go to Betfred’s store on Ormskirk Street instead where he made a beeline for Nichola’s till to get his Irish Lotto bet on.

He told her it was his last day on the site - a fact she sadly shared with colleague Sharon Glover as Tony left.

The happy couple at the bookies where they met (Image: Betfred)

Sharon pretended she was going on a break but instead was determined to play Cupid and followed Tony, asking him if he was single and could she have his telephone number.

Sharon said: “He seemed shocked and thought it was for me but I told him I was much too old for him and it was for Nichola who I knew fancied him because she went all coy when he came in to put his bet on.

“He seemed panicked and mumbled something about coming back.

“But I wasn’t having that so 10 minutes later, I found the building site and handed Nichola’s telephone number to one of his workmates with the strict instruction that he had to tell Tony to ring Nichola that night.”

And the rest, as they say, is history...

The couple have now set up home together in Fingerpost - and, four years after Tony plucked up the courage to ask for a date, they have set another very important date - their wedding in July!

Nichola's colleague Sharon Glover (right) played Cupid (Image: Betfred)

Bookie boss Fred Done, who organised flowers and champagne to celebrate the Betfred love story, made their Valentine’s Day joy complete by agreeing to pay for their honeymoon.

Sharon, 54, who has refused the chance to be a bridesmaid because she reckons she’s too old, added: “I was so chuffed when they got engaged and sent me a text saying it was all down to me.”

They shared their story on Valentine's Day (Image: Betfred)

Tony, 44, from West Derby in Liverpool, said: “To say I’m shy with women is an understatement. I was still living with my mum until I was 40!

“I had an idea that Nichola fancied me and was made up when Sharon got her number to me. Then it was up to me to gamble and make the call, which I’m so glad I did.

“If it wasn’t for Sharon and Betfred I’d still be at my mum’s instead of my life having being transformed.”

Now 35-year-old Nichola, who still has to cope with Tony’s dusty footprints but at home rather than at the shop, says they still joke about how fate brought them together.

She added: “We have the most perfect relationship and it grows stronger every single day.

“I am so lucky to have Tony in my life.”

Boss Fred vowed to find a love story for Valentine’s Day after hearing how a Betfred punter who won a cruise at Christmas met his girlfriend at the Betfred shop in Rock Ferry on the Wirral.

He said: “It got me thinking about romance at any more of our 1,300 shops across the land so we asked them to come up with their best true love stories. Nichola’s joyous tale reads like a Mills and Boon novel and I am absolutely chuffed to bits that I’m able to provide a final chapter by paying for their honeymoon.”