The All Saint Green Bingo Hall in Norwich, run by Mecca Bingo, was broken into by an knife wielding raider. The attack happened last Friday morning. A man, wearing a balaclava, entered the Mecca, city centre, Bingo Hall, at around 8.15 am, and held a female employee at knife point. The terrified woman, though to be in her late twenties, was dragged, from room to room, with the knife held to her throat, as the raider hunted for cash. The raid was foiled when the would-be robber entered the main Bingo Hall. Cleaner, Lee Marrison has been a cleaner at Mecca Bingo for the past two years. When he heard the terrified cries of the woman, he decided to stand his (and her) ground.
The intruder told Lee to lie on the floor, but when he didn’t, and just told the girl to “calm down”, the robber dropped the knife and made a run for it. Fellow worker, also a cleaner at Mecca Bingo, Rex Dowe, heard the commotion and went to the main hall, to see what was going on. He entered to see Lee chasing after the robber, and joined in the chase. The robber had entered, via a back door, which exits onto an alleyway. His accomplish was waiting here, with a motorbike.
Despite their intervention, the robbers managed to escape, and they didn’t get the number plates or a description. Apart from the one with the knife was about six foot tall. Lee’s mum is a cleaning supervisor, at the Mecca Bingo hall, and said the girl was “shaken up”. Thankfully, although in shock, she didn’t get badly hurt.
Several staff, including Lee, said they saw the two men ‘sussing the place out’ the day before the raid. Despite the lack of information, a twenty five year old has been arrested, but police are appealing for witnesses. Call Crimestoppers if you think you have any information that might be useful.
This was an article by Lisa for Bingo Faces on 09/06/2009
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