Newcastle United fan Paul Hucker, 34, paid 105 pounds (153 euros, 185 dollars) for the policy with britishinsurance.com against an occurrence that he said would leave him psychologically traumatised.

However, for Hucker's policy to mature, he must prove both that England's exit from the World Cup in Germany from June 9-July 9 is premature and that he subsequently suffered trauma.

Proving either one of the two conditions for his policy to mature will not be easy. On the first, a panel of five experts must agree that England's exit was premature.

On the second, though, Hunter will have to demonstrate with medical evidence that he has suffered a real shock to his morale rather than a mere state of depression.