A BET on Howard Wilkinson to be the next Sunderland manager has still to be claimed - more than four months after it was laid.

The Evening Press can reveal that one bet, with winnings of £840, is still outstanding at the Tote bookmakers in Bootham, York.

The bet, placed in October, has sparked a new mystery among the city's betting community as to why it has not yet been collected.

Last year, we reported how teachers at the Quaker-run Bootham School placed significant sums of money on Wilkinson, including two bets of £100 at 66/1.

The children of Sunderland chairman Bob Murray - who lives at Crayke, near Easingwold - attend the school.

At the time, Mr Murray said it was possible his children had "inadvertently" overheard a conversation discussing Mr Wilkinson's appointment to the Black Cats.

The bet at the Tote shop, only a hundred yards away from the school premises, was placed at 40-1.

Tote spokesman Jeremy Scott today confirmed the bet was still outstanding.

He said: "We can confirm that we have this outstanding bet for in the region of £800 on that particular market, in that shop."

Updated: 09:51 Saturday, March 01, 2003