A Scottish punter has placed the largest antepost wager on the English Premier League after staking £40,000 on Manchester United.

The customer placed the bet on the reigning champions and favourites at his local Ladbrokes in Dunbar on the eve of the season.

And he stunned staff by also staking £1,000 on Heart of Midlothian to win the equivalent trophy on his side of the border at odds of 125/1.

Ladbroke spokesman Robin Hutchison said: "We've hardly taken any money on United thus far so this bet came out of the blue - but not as far out of the blue as the Hearts one.

"We can only think he's a fan of the club, though we're happy to confirm it's not Vladimir Romanov!"

United are unchanged on 5/4 to win the Barclays Premier league, with Chelsea 13/8 and Arsenal and Liverpool both 6/1.

Celtic are 4/6 to retain their SPL title, with Rangers recently pushed out to 11/10 following the loss of defender Carlos Cuellar.

Barclays Premier League Odds from ladbrokes

Man Utd       5/4
Chelsea        13/8
Arsenal         6/1
Liverpool      6/1

50/1 bar

Clydesdale Bank Premier League

Celtic            4/6
Rangers        11/10
Hearts           125/1
Dundee Utd   200/1
Aberdeen       250/1
Hibernian        250/1
Motherwell     250/1

500/1 bar