Devoted friends today told how they plan to spend their winnings after hitting the jackpot at bingo.

Patricia Smith, who lives off Ipswich Road, Colchester, won £107,181 at the Gala bingo club in Osborne Street, Colchester.

She scooped the national bingo game prize of £100,000 plus the regional prize of £7,017. She also won the house prize of £164 when she got a full house in 39 numbers.

She is to share her good fortune with friend and neighbour Rita Phillips, whose husband Keith needs a spinal operation.

Mrs Phillips explained: "Everything Patricia and I have won we share. We have seen some hard times but we have good times too. We say we are each other's powerpacks."

Mrs Phillips also plans to give up her job as an early-morning cleaner for a bank. Delighted Mrs Smith, 52, has been a member of the bingo club for six years and plays there three times a week.

She said: "I had a feeling about it and I said this is the ticket. I always go with Rita, we've been friends for five years.

"We are going to split the money down the middle. I'm going to enjoy all the little things that you can't afford at the end of the week and pay off cards.

"We are just going to carry on and see how it goes. It's a nice lot of money but it can go easily."

Mrs Smith said she will stay in her job at the HSBC bank in Colchester and give some cash to her two daughters and two grandchildren. Her husband Leslie works for Colchester Council in the Clean-up Force and also works as a doorman at Ghosts nightclub.

Mrs Phillips, 62, said she could not believe her luck. And although she is planning to give up her cleaning job, the night after the win she could not sleep and cleaned the kitchen.

Her husband Keith, 66, has just heard he will need a spinal operation at Bart's Hospital in London. Mrs Phillips said the couple may put money aside if it speeds up the operation.

She said: "If he has to wait 18 months now with so much pain, we may use it for the operation."

In the money! Patricia with Rita, Leslie and Keith.

Picture: STEVE BRADING

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.