Gary Shanks, manager of the location, said: “It’s inspiring to see how generous people have been, especially given how difficult this year has been financially for many.” It means that those who love to play bingo games have also had the opportunity to give cash to a good cause.

Marie Curie Cancer Care community fundraiser Siobhan Heffernan told the news provider it is great to see the efforts the bingo hall has went to help the charity out.

Lynton King, 28, and his accomplice Leroy Hippolyte, burst into the Gala Bingo in The Broadway, Pitsea, wearing a crash helmet and yellow rubber gloves.

King threatened terrified staff with a blade, before telling them they would be stabbed if they didn’t open the safe.

The pair fled with almost £5,000 from the raid, which happened on October 15, 2006.

Hippolyte, then 30, was linked to the raid, after police found his fingerprints and DNA on the crash helmet, motorbike, a pair of rubber gloves and a hoodie, which were later found dumped in Grays.

He admitted the offence at Basildon Crown Court in April 2008 and was jailed for four years.

During that hearing, the court heard how King said staff would “get the knife in their backs if they did not get the safe open”.

But after King was arrested in March 2007, he failed to answer his bail and went on the run.

He was only arrested in April this year, three years later, by Metropolitan Police officers for an unrelated offence. He was then handed over to officers at Basildon.

King, of Caraway Close, Plaistow, was found guilty of robbery and failing to surrender to custody, after a trial at Basildon Crown Court. He was jailed for five years.

Following the case, investigating officer Det Con Darren Ward, of Basildon CID, welcomed the sentencing.

He said: “I am pleased King has finally been brought to justice, more than four years after committing this robbery.

“The staff at the time were terrified as King brandished a knife and threatened to use it.

“This sentence reflects the severity of the offence. I hope others considering making a criminal career through robbery realise, however long it takes, they will be brought to justice and put behind bars.”

The first case Rank brought was in relation to the double taxation that bingo clubs were subject to. Operators had to pay bingo duty and VAT on the fees taken in bingo games and sessions, but Mecca said that VAT should not be charged.

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The refund claim for the second case started as jackpot machines were subject to VAT, and fixed odd betting machines prior to 2005 weren’t. Rank said that the VAT obligations contravened the European Union principle of fiscal neutrality, basically that as the machines were similar they should be treated the same as far as VAT was concerned. The tribunal ruled in their favour, agreed that they were similar and therefore the jackpot machines should not have been subject to VAT.

Deloitte gave advice to Rank in both cases, and always believed that they would win. Tony McClenaghan, a Senior Tax Partner for the company said; “This is a very welcome decision following on from earlier victories at the Tribunal and in the High Court. We have always been confident that there was a breach of fiscal neutrality in the differential treatment of the relevant gaming machines and we welcome the Tribunal’s confirmation of this fact. Taxpayers affected by this decision should now consider making claims for overpaid VAT”.

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HMRC have appealed the rulings to the European Court of Justice. This is expected to be heard some time next year, although it is not thought likely to succeed. Rank must be keeping it’s fingers crossed on this, as if the HMRC were to overturn the original verdicts then they would have to return the payment, and to add salt to their wounds would also have to pay interest on this.

Former mayor John Sayers, 75, who runs weekly bingo at the town hall in Sudbury, Suffolk, said he had been advised to stop using these phrases. He said no one had complained about being offended, but players had since moaned that his new style is “boring”.

Sudbury Town Council said it had issued the advice due to legal concerns.

Sue Brotherwood, Sudbury Town Council clerk, said: “We hear these things, of people being sued because of it, and obviously we have to take it on board.

“It’s very sad that everyone seems to have lost their sense of humour.”

Mr Sayers, a serving councillor, told the BBC: “The concern was that if there might be two large ladies in the audience when I said ‘two fat ladies 88′ or someone might think I was looking at their legs when I said ‘legs 11′.

“I was advised that someone might take offence and we could end up being taken to court.”

He added: “I don’t like it. “No-one had ever complained about being offended. But they moan now, they say it’s boring. And I think just saying the numbers is boring too. “I’m obviously not being offensive – just having a bit of fun. It’s the tradition of the game and part of our language.”

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She says spent the money on driving lessons, a car, a new TV, new sofa and other furniture and on holidays and weekends away. She also gave money to her family and friends.  She used the rest of her share of the money to live on – her previous benefits stopped when she won the cash .

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Within 12 months the money was almost all gone. For the past year she has been applying for benefits but has repeatedly been told she doesn’t qualify and Cheryl now faces eviction from her home because she can’t pay the rent. She says she is so broke so has to rely on her mum for handouts and some days can’t afford to send her children to school.  She has stopped paying the council rent and has had her phone cut off. Much of her money is swallowed up by debts with power companies and she has had bailiffs at her home for non-payment of council tax.

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But, despite her perilous financial state, she is being denied benefits because work and pensions bosses say she acted irresponsibly in squandering her winnings.  A Department of Work and Pensions spokesman said “While we accept reasonable spending of savings or similar resources when calculating entitlement to means-tested benefits, we have to be sure the taxpayer is not being asked to pay someone who has deliberately spent money or used up resources that could have provided an alternative income.“

Cheryl, 33, said: “I don’t have a penny left. I just don’t know what to do, I’m so desperate.  It’s a mess.”

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