A PROUD father has staked £60 on his seven-year-old daughter to win a medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics.

Toby Corrie has accepted odds of 1,000 to one from bookmakers William Hill for his daughter Devon to win either gold, silver or bronze at the 2008 Games.

He has also taken the same odds on her nine-year-old friend Claire Knapp doing the same thing.

Both girls train twice a week at the Mickelfield Judo Club in High Wycombe and would be the club's first Olympians if they succeed.

Coach John Oke said: "I think the odds are riddiculous it should be at least 20,000 to one.

"They could go all the way but it takes a lot of hard work and if I was placing a bet I would want much better odds than that.

"They've got the talent, but they could break an arm or something else could get in the way. It's a fun bet and I hope he wins it but I hope he is not relying on the money because it's a long shot."

Bets like this are becoming increasingly commonplace, with some parents even betting on their childrens' exam results.

Graham Sharpe from bookmakers William Hill said: "We've got hundreds and thousands of bets like this and sure as eggs are eggs some of them are going to go off like time bombs in the future leaving us with a big payout.

"Parents get a bit of fun out of it and a story to tell down the pub for several years and the kids are flattered that their parents are showing faith in them and from our point of view it means potentially we have got the prospect of a big payout."

When parents bet on their childrens' exam results, William Hill calculate the odds by checking up on recent school reports but no such checks have been made on the two Micklefield judo players.

Sharpe said: "We haven't made any checks to see if they are going to be world beaters. We assume they are showing a bit of aptitude. Judo is one of those sports where people show their potential early on and that's why we're not offering odds of 25,000 to one like we might do for a three year-old to play football for England."

Dad Toby has agreed to split his winnings with his daughter if Devon comes up trumps in ten years time.

He said: "I'm not a gambler at all. I don't even bet on the National but I thought this would be fun.

"Being a dad, I would say my daughter is going to do it. She lives, sleeps and eats judo. But I know it's a long shot. They could go all the way or they could end up getting pregnant. I will support them as far as they want to go."

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