£3,333 Just Like That

Cherle treated all her family

Our house was a busy one. When my Cavalier King Charles spaniel Lucy gave birth to seven pups in 2010, I had my hands full.

‘Will you give some away?’ my husband Tony, 60, asked.

But I’d fallen in love with all of them!

In between walks, playing fetch and feeding my brood, the only time I got to myself was when they were asleep.

To enjoy ‘me time’, I found something fun and quiet so not to wake my sleeping pooches… Pick Me Up! Bingo. I’d seen ads and it looked fun, and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the slot game Double Bubble and Sapphire, a 90-ball bingo game.

Over the years, I won a little cash, but I just

I played for fun, made friends in the chatroom

played for fun mainly.

And I made friends in the chatrooms.

This February, I bought tickets for Sapphire.

Tony was watching TV and the dogs were asleep after their dinner. Time to put my feet up. I let the games play out, then I had a few games of Double Bubble.

Then I forgot about my games.

Wonder if I’ve won anything, I thought, when I remembered a bit later.

When I looked at my balance I realised I’d won £3,333! ‘Tony!’ I cried. ‘I’ve won!’ ‘Sure you weren’t playing a demo game?’ Tony asked. ‘Positive,’ I replied. He still didn’t believe me. It wasn’t until a giant cheque arrived in the post a few days on that the penny finally dropped.

We’d been wanting to give our garden a makeover, so we spent £1,000 transforming it.

We gave our kids – aged 36, 35 and 25 – and nine grandchildren cash, too. Then I split the rest between myself and Tony.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending my win and sharing it with my family, too.

And our pampered pooches didn’t go without, either.

I spoilt them with new toys and treats. It’s a luxury dog’s life for them, that’s for sure.

And it’s all thanks to Pick Me Up! Bingo.