A Great-Grandma had a lucky night at a local bingo club and it wasn’t down to winning her favourite game. Betty Barnes collapsed and was lucky that a quick thinking member of staff rushed to her rescue saving 73-year olds life.

Betty has been given the opportunity to thank her hero in person and added: “I thank you with all my pacemaker heart – you deserve a bag of gold.”

The bingo player, from Grindon, was buying her bingo books at the Mecca Bingo club in Holmeside when she had a heart attack.

Ken Norton, the first aider at the club, managed to keep her alive until paramedics arrived at the club. “I just can’t thank him enough. He saved my life,” Betty added.

“I remember going into town and then heading to the bingo. The next thing I remember I was in hospital.”

She added: “I had a £3-off ticket for the bingo – it’s like a £3 life insurance – but I didn’t even get to use it.

“I was asking my friend ‘Did I win the big one? Is that what made me collapse?’ But I hadn’t even bought my books.”

Ken who himself is 67 and has had various roles with Mecca Bingo over the last 11 years removed Betty’s false teeth to ensure her airways were unblocked. He then placed her in the recovery position and kept an eye on her until the paramedics arrived. Luckily Ken did not have to perform CPR on Betty but was monitoring her condition carefully just in case.

“I could feel that her heart was weak, so I just kept monitoring her,” he added.

The modest hero also claimed he could take no glory for his effort. “It was the paramedics and the hospital staff that saved her life. I just put her in the recovery position and monitored her,” he explained. “It’s just the first thing they teach you on a first aid course.”

Betty had to stay in Sunderland Royal Hospital for 6 days so that she could be fitted with a pacemaker. She had suffered a previous heart attack four years ago.

“When I was in hospital the paramedics came to see me and I thanked them very much, but they said ‘You don’t need to thank us, it’s that gentleman at the bingo you need to thank’,” she added.

“When Ken came in I thought ‘It is him’, I’ve seen him so many times. He’s held the door for me and carried my bag countless times.

“He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves – he deserves a bag of gold.”

She went on: “I need to take it easy now, but I’ll still be going to the bingo. I’ve been going there for years.”

The duty manager at the Mecca Bingo club, Angela Heggarty, added: “Our staff are absolutely fantastic in any sort of emergency.

“We are very, very proud of them.”