Bingo player left shell-shocked after winning £252,000 at Northampton venue

A former legal secretary who lost her mother and twin sister in quick succession this year has been given a quarter-of-a-million pound shot in the arm '“ after winning a national bingo jackpot.
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Grandmother of 10, Yvonne Verlander has had a tragic 2016 so far, with the death of her mother Margaret and twin sister Christine.

As neither had life insurance Mrs Verlander had not been able to pay for a headstone for their graves.

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But yesterday after being persuaded to go to Beacon Bingo for the day by a friend, she ended up scooping the National Bingo jackpot of £252,000.

Afterwards she celebrated...by playing another round of bingo. Mrs Verlander, 59, said: “I’m going to sort my mum and sister out now for sure. I might go on holiday as well, I haven’t been away in a long time. I’ve got options now.”

Mrs Verlander defied the odds by getting a full house and matching her “star number,” 47, quicker than anyone else in the country yesterday. The national Bingo game is played twice daily around the UK.

As it took half-an-hour to verify the result, she was actually in the toilet when her friend told her she had won.

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“I said to my friend don’t be silly,” she said. “But then when I went back inside I found it was true. Everyone was kissing and cuddling me.”

Mrs Verlander, who plans to go to Sharm el-Sheikh with her winnings, has been going to Beacon for 20 years now. The most she has ever won is £5,000 until now. It marks the biggest win by any player at the Weedon Road based Beacon bingo since Jenny Curtis scooped the same jackpot in 2005.

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