A horseracing fanatic is set to join an elite bunch of racing followers when he visits Chelmsford City Racecourse early next year.

Yorkshireman Steve Dunn set himself the challenge of visiting all sixty UK tracks as a "punter's pilgrimage".

As 2017 drew to a close he thought he was going to come up short, however Betfred boss Fred Done stepped in and offered a VIP weekend for him and his wife to the Great Leighs racetrack - the last on his list.

Mr Dunn, 62, said: "I never set out to visit all sixty courses but a few years ago I realised I had probably done about 34 and started ticking them off.

"Then my wife Debbie and I would go to Scotland or the west country and take in somewhere I had not visited.

"It is brilliant Fred has agreed to let me mark the New Year with such a milestone, 2018 will be a year that will never be forgotten.”

Mr Dunn, who bought his first house in Hull with the winnings from a 50p bet, hasn't always been lucky, but is hoping his trip to Chelmsford will be a successful one.

"It is strange that Chelmsford is the last course to enable me to join that small band of race fans who have done all sixty," he said.

"It is probably that Chelmsford is quite far from my home in Yorkshire but I have heard the standard of racing is high and the course is having a lot spent on improvements.”