Two best friends that have been sharing their bingo winnings for many years have ended up in court after one refused to share a £10,000 jackpot.

Muriel Harrison, 83, and fellow bingo player Sandra Fowler-McAllister have fallen out after Sandra refused to share out the prize money equally. Muriel was so upset that she decided to take her former best friend to Nottingham County Court claiming £5,000 plus costs and interest.

The bingo battle started when Muriel claimed that Sandra had refused to honour their verbal agreement having won the High 5 Jackpot game at the Gala Bingo club in Nottingham in March.

Muriel commented: 'She told me "I don't feel I can give you half". I said "What do you mean?" and she said "As you know I need the money more than you, you have got your own property".'

McAllister has disputed the claim during this weeks court hearing and said that she did offer her former friend 20 percent of the winnings.

She claimed to the court: 'You know that the High 5 is not an in-house game, it belongs to the country. It's a one-in-a-million chance.

'We never had any agreement if we won won a large sum of money or if we would share. A share in her mind was 50 per cent but we never made any agreement. I've never ever said she couldn't have a share.

'It was because it wasn't 50 per cent she wouldn't accept it.'

Judge Francis Reeson dismissed Muriel's claims adding that the two women had an ad-hoc agreement which worked when it suited them.

He added: 'Mrs Harrison says this is a matter of principle. As a matter of law there has been an agreement and both parties have to be in agreement what the agreement is.'

The Judge went on to say that both of ladies had put forward their own arguments and this did not mean that either of them was lying. Muriel has said that she intends to appeal the decision to dismiss the case.