A gambling nun is praying for her fourth Grand National success in a row today.

Sister Rita Dawson's winning habit makes her one of the luckiest Grand National punters in the UK.

Now Sister Rita, chief executive of St Margaret's Hospice in Clydebank, near Glasgow, is hoping for further success today so she can raise thousands of pounds for the centre.

The nun, part of the Sisters of Charity order, has won on the last three Grand Nationals at cumulative odds of 7,865/1.

She plans on betting on Gunner Welburn in today's race and has been handed a £1,000 free charity bet by bookmakers Ladbrokes.

Sister Rita is trying to raise £1.6 m for the hospice which cares for the terminally ill.

She makes her yearly Grand National selections after calling her brother in Ireland for his advice.

Sister Rita says: "I have a chat with my brother who narrows the field down for me.

"Then something strikes me and I go for one horse.

"It has been really exciting watching the race for the last three years. I'm hoping I can go one better with Gunner Welburn.

"I do get some funny looks when I go into the shop in my habit but I think it's all great fun."

Last year, Sister Rita won by backing Bindaree at 20/1, the previous year she picked the winner Red Marauder at odds of 33/1 and in 2000 she won with Papillon at 10/1.

With bets of £2, she won a total of £126 in winnings on the three races.

This year, Sister Rita is hoping for a bigger return by going for £500 each way on Gunner Welburn.

But if there is rain around, she may switch her bet to Chives who has a reputation for performing better on wet ground.

Ladbrokes spokesman Warren Lush said: "We're amazed at how well Sister Rita does when it comes to predicting winners.

"We don't know of anyone else who has picked the winner for the past three years, and if she pulls it off again, that will be unprecedented."

Last night, police advised people to come early for today's Grand National due to stringent security measures.