It is wedding bells for a happy couple who have been engaged
to get married for nine years. They owe it all to Bingo when Luke Ferendon won
more than £12,000 at Grimsby’s Gala Bingo. He and fiancée Sue Garland have a
nine year old daughter named and will get hitched on July 13th.
Luke wanted to plan a proper wedding for Sue but was not able to afford it
until now. The £1 stake bingo game paid out £12,164. Luke, 38, said:
"It might not sound like a lot of money to some people but it's enough to
make our dream come true."
Sue, 42, said: "Every year we thought we would do it but there was always
something to pay for. This will change our lives forever."
The twosome head for bingo on a weekly basis and hesitated to play the Party Xtra
XL link game opting to spend his last £2 on nuts. Fortunately he made the right
decision and purchased to boards to the game.
He said: "I had never even considered that we might win and when I crossed
off the last number, I was so gobsmacked that I just went totally numb.
"Luckily, Sue was there to press the button and shout out – she was
virtually hysterical."
He said: "I had always wanted that truck but I looked at the money on the
table and all of a sudden it didn't seem so important anymore.
"Marrying Sue is all I've wanted to do for the last nine years and it is
everything to me.
"Finally I had the money to do it and do it the right way so I decided
that was exactly what I was going to do."
Sue said: "We had arranged to go and see the truck the next day and
suddenly he just said 'I'm going to put it back in the bank and we're going to
get married.
"I realised it was finally going to happen. It was an emotional moment for
both of us."
Sharon Smith the Gala Bingo manager is invited to their wedding. Sharon honored
as she said: "They are lovely people and what really touched my heart is
that they said they wouldn't have been able to do this otherwise.
"This win has given them something they never thought they were going to
have – and having got to know them, they really deserve it.
"Giving them this money is what makes this job worthwhile – it's like
being a part of their lives."
