Paddy Power website crashes hours before Cheltenham Gold Cup

One of Britain's biggest online betting websites failed for around an hour this afternoon, just before the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The cup, one of the biggest events on the horse racing calendar, is contested this afternoon at 3.20 in the Gloucestershire town.

Millions will be bet on the races throughout the day, both online and in bookies' shops.

But PaddyPower's website went offline for over an hour until after the meeting's first race had finished.

Angry customers tweeted at the company's official Twitter account, after they couldn't bet on the races.

The account assured customers: "Apologies our site and app are currently experiencing technical difficulties. We aim to be back up before the first race at Cheltenham."

But it wasn't until after the first race that they could declare: "Our site is now back up and running. Apologies for any inconvenience caused."