Bingo News

Bingo Sisters’ Dirty Laundry
Linda Kenny and Doreen Thomas, two sisters from of Runcorn, Cheshire, who sued their big sister Edna Saxon over a £50,000 Bingo win at their local Gala Bingo hall last June, have just won their court case.

59-year-old Edna Saxon of Allerton, Liverpool, had won on a National Bingo Game ticket and Doreen and Linda insisted they'd had a verbal agreement to share any winnings. Judge Derek Halbert, who presided over the case, said Edna had gone back on an oral agreement that they made back in 2005 and awarded Linda and Doreen £17,463 each.

“When the win was announced, all of us were celebrating, all three sisters,” remembers 53-year-old Linda Kenny. “Somebody even bought a bottle of champagne. We were all planning on going on a joint family holiday to the United States. Edna must have changed her mind when she got home. I think she has betrayed us. We just couldn't believe what she had done. You'd never dream your sister would do that to you. We now refer to her as ‘the witch’. She has caused a lot of bad feeling in our families. Edna has always been the black sheep of the family, and the way she has acted makes us all very bitter. After all this we will never talk again.”

Speaking outside of Chester County Court, Doreen Thomas (57) said: “Edna was away in a convalescent home from the age of 5 to 15 because she was ill and only had one kidney. When she returned to the family home she was very hard and told fibs. She started stealing my clothes, especially my expensive underwear, when I was out. She even tried to steal one of my boyfriends. There was always sadness in her life. We are glad to have been awarded the payment although we don’t know how Edna is going to pay us. Edna has two weeks to pay us but we know she won't. Still, at least we had a victory and can say we are entitled to the money, if nothing else.”

Edna Saxon, who claimed the original agreement to share was not binding, said: “I don’t think it’s really a victory, is it? When I learned they were taking me to court, we got rid of the money pretty quick. I gave away about £22,000 to family members and spent the rest doing up the house and going on holiday to Vegas with my husband Harry. If I could get Legal Aid, I'd appeal the court decision as we have no assets. We're on benefits so I don't know where the money will come from.”