Telford's Mecca Bingo paid out £1.3m in 2010

Players at a Shropshire bingo hall walked away with £1.3 million in prize money in 2010, it was revealed today.

Mecca Bingo in Telford revealed it dished out the cash to winning players last year.

Craig O'Neil, general manager at Mecca in Telford, said the number of players initially dropped after the smoking ban was introduced.

But numbers were now returning, and he said the bingo hall in Southwater Square now packed in more than 1,600 players a week.

"To give away £1.3 million worth of prize money to our club customers in only one year is just fantastic.

"Bingo is as popular as ever and the chances of winning a life enhancing amount of money are huge.

"I think people new to the game always find it surprising how frequent the wins can actually be with bingo, whether in clubs or online," said Mr O'Neil.

"And with our new promotion running for the next two weeks we hope to give more people the reason to smile."

The Mecca brand dished out £33 million in prize money throughout the West Midlands, which was part of a national total of more than £300 million.