A BOLTON Wanderers fanatic living in America was stunned when the club telephoned him - to say he had won a Florida holiday.

Stephen Whittleston, 41, was woken at 4am in Los Angeles with news that he'd won the trip of a lifetime as top prize in the club's Lifeline draw.

But the sleepy ex-pat was in no mood to celebrate - and told competition organisers he would rather have the cash because he had been there umpteen times before.

Now his mum Joan, 73, is to fly 5,500 miles to her son's apartment - a stone's throw from the Santa Monica beach where TV's Baywatch is filmed - to give him a winning cheque for £2,500 instead.

Alison Bell, who organises Wanderers' weekly draw, phoned Stephen after Bolton's 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

She said: "I'd forgotten the time difference so it was the early hours in LA when Stephen picked up the phone.

"He was happy but said the holiday was no good to him."

Former St Gregory's School pupil Stephen - now a long distance trucker -left Bolton for the States 16 years ago.

But the Wanderers fanatic makes regular pilgrimages back home to watch the Whites in action.

He also maintains his annual subscription to Lifeline and gets mum Joan, of Aster Avenue, Farnworth, to send him copies of the BEN so he can keep in touch with all the latest from the Reebok.

"He's a real character who always brings a smile to people's faces when he comes over," said Alison Bell.

Mum Joan, who is visiting Steve in the summer, said: "It will be great to go over and see him. He's already paid for me to go so I can take the cheque over as well."

Stephen recently won a free trip to Britain in a US pub fancy dress competition.

He chose Old Trafford as his destination to see Wanderers draw 1-1 with Manchester United on the anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.

"He's always been Bolton daft and he'll never change," said mum Joan.

WANDERERS have a limited number of Lifeline places available to people wanting to join. Call Alison Bell on 673673.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.