IT started as a joke - and ended with a lucky punter banking a huge prize after winning a 2,000 to one bet.

Saints fan Stuart Mayes, 34, was having a drink with friends before his team took on Arsenal at St Mary's on Boxing Day.

After seeing the team sheets Stuart and a friend decided to share a £2 bet on Cuco Martina scoring on his first start for the club, and predicted a 4-0 scoreline.

The game was the day after Christmas and the day before his birthday, but Stuart still couldn't believe his eyes as his luck came in spectacularly.

Martina fired in a stunning 30-yard piledriver - a contender for Premier League goal of the season - in the first half before Shane Long and captain Jose Fonte put Saints 3-0 ahead, and there were still twists and turns to come.

His hopes seemed to be dashed when Long struck the post in the 89th minute but the Irishman made no mistake when he slid in the fourth in extra time.

Stuart said: "I got the first goal scorer and I was quite happy with that but by the end everyone was going nuts when they knew I'd won £2,000.

"It was just a wild lucky guess really and it was just because it was the first game he had started.

"When it was 3-0 Long hit the post and after he had scored Tadic went on a mazy run - I was probably the only one in the ground that didn't want him to score."

The stunning scoreline netted the lifelong Saints fan £2,000, which he says will go towards a new kitchen in his house in Harefield, Southampton.

He has since enjoyed celebrating the win and is struggling to believe his luck.

Stuart said: "We had a couple of drinks afterwards and it was my birthday yesterday.

"To be honest the 4-0 score on its own was a bit crazy.

"This is the first time I've won anything like that that and the most I've won before is £20 or £30."

The bet was so remarkable that Sky Bet referred to it as "incredible" on social media, saying: "Amazingly 19 had 4-0 Saints FC at 100/1 including a £50 stake.

"More incredible was £2 on Martina first goalscorer and 4-0 at 2000/1."