Staff at a Tooting bingo hall have been accused of ignoring an attack on an elderly woman during an afternoon game session.
According to one witness, the woman was beaten “black and blue” by another punter at Gala Bingo, yet staff carried on calling numbers and refused players’ requests to call the police, it is alleged.
However, staff at the bingo hall say the attack was a minor incident and the attacker has been banned.
The attack happened in front of dozens of bingo players at the Mitcham Road venue last Tuesday, October 20.
According to one witness, an elderly woman, thought to be in her 70s, was walking away from the bingo area when she tripped and fell over a woman’s legs, which were sticking out into an aisle.
When the elderly woman told the younger woman, described as being in her 30s, to tuck her legs in, she was attacked – to such an extent a male change collector eventually pulled them apart, the witness said.
The witness, who did not want to be named, said: “I hate bullies and seeing this really upset me.
“The woman had won £600 earlier in the day so she should have been in a happy mood.
“Instead she punched an elderly woman hard in the side of the face.
“Her face was black and blue afterwards.
“The attack went on for about five or 10 minutes, it was a complete mismatch, not just in terms of age but also size.
“I’m disgusted by the whole affair and Gala should be ashamed of themselves.”
Gala has since said the attacker has been banned from the bingo hall.
Manager Siva Jeevah said the elderly woman stepped on another woman’s foot and was not punched but instead “shoved in the face with her hand”.
Mr Jeevah confirmed staff waited until the game was completed before intervening.
A spokesman for Gala Bingo said: “We can confirm there was an incident in our Tooting bingo club on October 20, which did not result in either a formal complaint to the company or the police.
“Gala Coral takes the safety of our staff and customers very seriously.
“The club manager took statements from both involved and took the immediate decision to remove one of the individuals from the club, in addition to barring her from the Gala Bingo club in Tooting.”
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