A lucky Felixstowe bingo fan received an unexpected boost to her afternoon at The Palace Bingo, when she called 'house' on a life changing £50,000 on the National Bingo Game.

Mother of four, grandmother of fifteen and great grandmother of ten, Carol Fulcher, 75, was playing with her husband of 55 years Joe, when she hit the jackpot number.

Carol said of her win, "It was unbelievable. I was in a state of shock: simply gobsmacked."

Carol was introduced to bingo by husband Joe, when she went with him to meet her then future mother in-law at bingo. Joe thought that introducing Carol to his mum over a game of bingo was a sure fire winner, and he was right.

Having retired in 1990 bingo is something that Carol and Joe enjoy doing together and it brings back good memories of Joe's mum too.

"We like going to bingo – it's nice to get out of the house, a lovely way to make friends and it's clean and safe. Also we are well looked after at The Palace by the staff there: we know lots of the regulars and the food is good too," said Carol.

The Palace Bingo club team wanted to mark the big win for everyone and held a special celebration for Carol last Tuesday (28 September), where regulars were all invited to toast the lucky winner.

Patrick Duffy, managing director of The Palaces said, "We love seeing people win and are delighted that Carol has won such huge cash prize on the National Bingo Game – I am sure there will be treats in store for the family.

"It was a pleasure to see everyone at the club joining in Tuesday's celebration: we love to celebrate."

Alastair Stewart, head of commercial operations at the National Bingo Game said: "We are thrilled for our lucky National Bingo Game £50,000 Jackpot winner at The Palaces Felixstowe.

"I am sure when the shock passes that Carol and Joe will enjoy treating the family and spoiling the grandchildren."

The National Bingo Game started in 1986, with the current format launched on 30 April 2018, as full house only game and offers players the following prizes:

Club Prize – won in every club, on every game

Jackpot Prizes of £50,000, £1,000 and £100

To win a Club Prize a player must be the first in their participating venue to successfully complete a full house.

To win a Jackpot Prize a player must be the first in their participating venue to successfully complete a full house as follows in the following number of calls:

20 numbers or less to win £ 1,000

Total prize money paid to date by the National Bingo Game is more than

Celebrities love bingo.

Catherine Zeta Jones can thank bingo for her career after her dad won enough to afford to send her to theatre school; other celebrity fans include: Denise Van Outen, Scott Mills and former President Barrack Obama's step-mother.

A number of celebrities started their careers in bingo, including Chris Tarrant, Simon from boy band Blue, East Ender's Shane Richie, Russell Crowe and Kian from West Life.

To find a participating club and for further information on the National Bingo Game visit www.nationalbingo.co.uk. or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NationalBingoGame) and Twitter.com @nationalbingo.

All players must be aged 18 or over. The National Bingo Game is played under the provisions of The Gambling Act 2005 and played under National Bingo Game Players' Rules.

Players should always gamble responsibly. For more information and advice visit www.BeGambleAware.org