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William Hill are renowned for accepting bets on virtually any subject under the sun.

But even they were shocked to receive a request from a potential customer asking to place a bet that he could 'amputate by electric chainsaw my left leg, just above the knee'

'This was the most outrageous bet request we received during 2009, a year in which we were asked for more bets than ever before which we were just not prepared to entertain' Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe told Bettingpro.

'In this instance I told the punter concerned - an internet client whose initials are J.W.- that had we accepted his request neither we nor he would have had a leg to stand on!' added Sharpe.

Other bets which Hills turned down flat included - 'Swine flu to wipe out Glasgow'; 'Michael Shumacher to die in a Grand Prix in 2010'. 'Gordon Brown to commit suicide', 'Myself to be involved in a major disaster', 'That World War III will break out with Pakistan, Russia and China the main enemies', bets about Jade Goody's illness and Michael Jackson's death, and, bizarrely, 'that I will be quarantined during a trip to Singapore and Thailand.'

Hills also receive regular requests for bets that high profile politicians and public figures will be assassinated; that major natural disasters will take place and that various calamities will befall different celebrities. 'All of these are politely declined' said Sharpe.

However, over the Christmas period, Hills did pay out on unusual bets to a man who lost 5 stone in weight and won £1000; and a grandfather who, eight years ago, backed his grandson to grow up to play for a Premiership club and collected £3400 when he made his Everton debut. During 2009, they also offered 500/1 that Wayne and Colleen Rooney's first born will win an England football cap, paid out to punters who bet that banker Sir Fred Goodwin would take a cut to his pension pot, and bet that Spotted Dick would be the next type of dessert aimed at Peter Mandelson after he was targeted by a protestor who threw green custard at him.

In June, Hills also paid out £5000 to lung cancer sufferer Jon Matthews from Milton Keynes, who bet that he would live longer than his Specialist predicted.

'We are always happy to take bets on unexpected propositions - provided we consider them to be legal, decent, honest and truthful' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.