Veteran Bingo Caller Completes Final Shift

Long-serving Somerset bingo caller bows out.

A bingo hall employee from Somerset is calling time on her career after 34 years of loyal service to the numbers game.

Rose Walford, who started working as a caller at Mecca Bingo in Bridgwater as a 25-year-old, has decided to take early retirement at the age of 59, the Bridgwater Mercury reports.

Speaking to the local newspaper, Ms Walford said that she has witnessed many changes to bingo during her time as a caller.

"The industry has changed so much in the 34 years I have been here. We used to use the ball machines but now a computer does it all," she explained.

"It is easier now but the atmosphere has definitely changed."

Meanwhile, bingo fans in the Kent town of Deal will be forced to find a new venue after local bingo club The Regent was closed down.

Owner Robin Bloom told the BBC that the former cinema has struggled to attract enough players since the smoking ban was introduced.