A lucky bingo player hit the jackpot to see in the New Year £50,000 better off.

Thomas Graves, who lives in Colchester, visited the Buzz Bingo on Osborne Street with three friends just one day before Christmas – and they left just hours later having scooped a remarkable sum of cash.

The group of four were playing the Big Buzz Special when they struck gold, and have vowed to split the money between them – meaning they should be set for the tidy of sum of £12,500 each.

Following the Christmas Eve win, they said they were so shocked that they couldn’t even start to make up their mind on what to spend the money on.

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One of them phoned their mum to tell her the good news, and found it no easy task convincing her they genuinely had won the cash prize.

Peter Brigden, the chief retail officer at Buzz Bingo said that the entire bingo hall in Colchester was on their feet to celebrate the win of Thomas Graves and his three friends.

He said: “The atmosphere in club when there’s a win is always incredible, and we’re delighted to see another customer hit the £50,000 jackpot during the Big Buzz Special at Buzz Bingo Colchester.”

Mr Graves called “House” during the Big Buzz Special game to win the cash prize.