GREAT Yarmouth woman Barbara Yerrell has been unveiled as Mecca Great Yarmouth's Bingo Buddy of the Year and could now scoop an all expenses paid trip to New York or London! The search for Mecca's 'Bingo Buddy of the Year' was launched to recognise and celebrate the thousands of friendships that have been built over the years.

GREAT Yarmouth woman Barbara Yerrell has been unveiled as Mecca Great Yarmouth's Bingo Buddy of the Year and could now scoop an all expenses paid trip to New York or London!

The search for Mecca's 'Bingo Buddy of the Year' was launched to recognise and celebrate the thousands of friendships that have been built over the years.

From always being there in times of need, to cheering friends up when they're feeling a bit low, to simply making people smile, good friends are hard to come by.

No-one knows this better than Barbara's friend, Anthony Bullen, who nominated her for the award. Anthony said Barbara supported her through hard times; both when he suffered panic attacks and when he sadly lost his Nanny. It was Barbara's true character and fun personality which helped Anthony through the tough times.

Mandy Hicks, Team Leader at Mecca Great Yarmouth, commented: “We were inundated with entries for the Bingo Buddy of The Year competition so choosing a Club Winner wasn't an easy task. However, Barbara really stood out as a shining example of true friendship.”

Anthony and Barbara have both been invited to Mecca Great Yarmouth on Saturday 14th March to receive their prizes. Each club winner and the buddy who nominated them will be able to indulge themselves with a delicious Cadbury Chocolate hamper and will then have the chance to be named as a regional winner - to be announced w/c 16th March - an accolade that also comes with a year's supply of Cadbury Chocolate!

The regional winners will go through to the national finals event which is being held on Tuesday, March 24 at Mecca Bingo in Wednesbury, West Midlands. A judging panel including Jane McDonald, singer and star of ITV's popular Loose Women, will select the national winner.

The winner and their buddy will then be able to choose an all-expenses-paid short break, including spending money, to either New York or London, courtesy of Cadbury UK.

Jane McDonald added: “It's great to see friendship being celebrated in this way and I'm really looking forward to judging the national final and hearing about how some of the closest friendships in the country were made.”