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| Cleaner sweeps up £1.2m bingo win | Cleaner sweeps up £1.2m bingo win |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A 38-year-old cleaner from South Lanarkshire has won what bingo bosses claim is the game's biggest ever win. | A 38-year-old cleaner from South Lanarkshire has won what bingo bosses claim is the game's biggest ever win. |
| Mother-of-four Soraya Lowell, from Hamilton, scooped just under £1.2m at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge. | Mother-of-four Soraya Lowell, from Hamilton, scooped just under £1.2m at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge. |
| National Bingo Game bosses said they believed Mrs Lowell's win on Sunday could be the biggest in the world. | National Bingo Game bosses said they believed Mrs Lowell's win on Sunday could be the biggest in the world. |
| She has pledged to give half of her winnings to her 68-year-old neighbour and bingo companion, Agnes O'Neill, who was there when she hit the jackpot. | She has pledged to give half of her winnings to her 68-year-old neighbour and bingo companion, Agnes O'Neill, who was there when she hit the jackpot. |
| Mrs Lowell said: "We always share whatever either of us wins and this time will be no different." | Mrs Lowell said: "We always share whatever either of us wins and this time will be no different." |
| Mrs O' Neill added: "I have had a rough time the last three years - I have been very ill and Soraya has cared for me which meant my husband did not have to retire early. | Mrs O' Neill added: "I have had a rough time the last three years - I have been very ill and Soraya has cared for me which meant my husband did not have to retire early. |
| "She has been wonderful to me. | "She has been wonderful to me. |
| "What she has done for me is absolutely something else." | "What she has done for me is absolutely something else." |
| Mrs Lowell has promised to half her winnings with Mrs O'Neill | |
| Mrs Lowell won the National Bingo Game and its Platinum Jackpot, netting £1,167,795. | Mrs Lowell won the National Bingo Game and its Platinum Jackpot, netting £1,167,795. |
| Her win beats that of Christine Bradfield, from Merthyr Tydfil, who won £1.1m in January. | Her win beats that of Christine Bradfield, from Merthyr Tydfil, who won £1.1m in January. |
| The bingo hall erupted when Mrs Lowell called house on the last number, 90. | The bingo hall erupted when Mrs Lowell called house on the last number, 90. |
| Players jumped up and down cheering and shouting and the party continued through the night, as Mrs Lowell celebrated at her home with family and neighbours until 6am. | Players jumped up and down cheering and shouting and the party continued through the night, as Mrs Lowell celebrated at her home with family and neighbours until 6am. |
| Despite her win, Mrs Lowell has vowed to return to work. | Despite her win, Mrs Lowell has vowed to return to work. |
| She said: "It just won't sink in yet. | She said: "It just won't sink in yet. |
| "I haven't slept at all, but I will be back at work on Tuesday as usual. | "I haven't slept at all, but I will be back at work on Tuesday as usual. |
| "I clean offices until 1.30am and I don't intend to give up my job. | "I clean offices until 1.30am and I don't intend to give up my job. |
| "I like the girls I work with, and they have already told me not to pack it in." | "I like the girls I work with, and they have already told me not to pack it in." |
| 'Worth waiting for' | |
| Mrs Lowell said her husband Frankie did not believe her when she telephoned him to break the news of her win. | Mrs Lowell said her husband Frankie did not believe her when she telephoned him to break the news of her win. |
| "He handed the phone to our eldest daughter, who heard the shouting in the background and told him I was telling the truth," she added. | "He handed the phone to our eldest daughter, who heard the shouting in the background and told him I was telling the truth," she added. |
| Mrs Lowell, who has been a member at the club since it opened 16 months ago, first went to bingo as a young child with her grandmother. | Mrs Lowell, who has been a member at the club since it opened 16 months ago, first went to bingo as a young child with her grandmother. |
| "This is my first ever win and it was worth waiting for," she said. | "This is my first ever win and it was worth waiting for," she said. |
| She added that her three daughters, aged 13, 15 and 21, and her 19-year-old son had already offered to help her spend her winnings. | She added that her three daughters, aged 13, 15 and 21, and her 19-year-old son had already offered to help her spend her winnings. |
| "They have all put in wee orders already," she said. | "They have all put in wee orders already," she said. |
| "The two oldest want convertibles and don't even have licences yet." | "The two oldest want convertibles and don't even have licences yet." |