Bingo hall brawl leads to lifetime nationwide ban for six women

Police were called and six women given a lifetime nationwide ban after a mass fight broke out at Torquay Gala Bingo hall. The "vicious" brawl erupted between two groups of ladies who began arguing during a game. Shocked players watched in amazement as an argument between six women carried on during the game then exploded into violence. Witnesses described seeing somebody sent flying from a chair while another nursed a bloody nose.
A spokesman for Gala Bingo said: "We can confirm there was an incident at our club on October 17. Gala Bingo have a zero tolerance towards any violence in our clubs and the members involved will be barred from our clubs." One shocked player said after the bingo brawl: "It's not the sort of thing you expect to see at the bingo. It was vicious." An ambulance was also sent to the bingo hall in Temperance Street after reports the violent dispute had spilled into the foyer. A witness said: "There had been a disagreement in the foyer before we started playing.

"The game was interrupted by these two groups talking and arguing. The next thing I saw was one girl practically flying off her chair. I don't know if it was because somebody had punched her or she was going for somebody else. There was another woman who looked like she was having a panic attack. It was a big scuffle but we couldn't tell what it was all about or what was really happening. It carried on in the foyer and then the police were called." The woman, in her 20s, is thought to have suffered a bloody nose in the alleged altercation.

It is not known what caused the fight but police say it involved about six females. A police spokesman said: "The initial report was of a fight in the main part of the premises which staff were struggling to control. When police arrived it was clear there had been some sort of dispute but all the parties were dispersed." The ambulance service confirmed it had treated two women, one with facial injuries. Nobody required hospital treatment. Police said no arrests had been made but they were still investigating what had happened.