Lucky Chickerell pensioner scoops £43,000 on Find the Ball

Brenda Fieldhouse, 77, from Chickerell, is over the moon after beating thousands of entries to win the star prize in the Newsquest competition.

She said: “I just can’t believe it, I’m still in shock I think.

“I had a phone call to tell me I’d won and I thought someone was pulling my leg.

“I immediately texted my best friend Pat and asked her to come over.

“I’m ever so lucky – I do the Irish Lottery and usually win small amounts, I win a lot of raffles and I’m really lucky about most things but I’ve never won more than £1,000 in bingo at Birmingham before.

“I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Mrs Fieldhouse, who is originally from Birmingham, moved to Dorset 15 years ago with her husband Brian.

She said Brian, who passed away 11 years ago, would have spent the money on a car but as she does not have a driver’s licence she won't be.

Mrs Fieldhouse, who does not have a passport, is not interested in holidays abroad either.

She said: “I’ve never been abroad. I’ve been to Devon and Cornwall and Torquay is my favourite – I go down by coach and stay in a hotel.”

The keen bingo player, who attends Wyke Working Men’s Club regularly, says this Find the Ball competition took longer than usual to enter because a friend interrupted her as she was placing her 400 crosses.

She said: “I lost count in the middle of it and had to start again. I was going to see if I could buy a special stamp from somewhere to help with next one but I don’t need to now.

“I think I can afford the Dyson I wanted now.

“I might also get a ginger kitten now I can afford to keep it.”

Her best friend Pat Blackstock said: “I’m absolutely thrilled for Brenda. She’s a lucky person and a lovely lady, she really is.

• Find the Ball appears in four Newsquest titles each week and last year paid out more than £182,800 in prize money.

See tomorrow’s Echo to have your chance to win.

The jackpot prize for this Saturday stands at £6,000 while the runner up prize stands at £1,000.