Bingo winner who shared her jackpot earns compensation

A Bingo winner who sued her ex-partner after he broke a promise to give her a share of his house has won £27,880 in compensation.

Barmaid Karen Bryson, 40, told a court that Alex Bunce offered her the property deal after she scooped a £103,247.79 national jackpot at her local bingo hall.

She claims that the pair embarked on a luxury binge of exotic holidays with her winnings after Mr Bunce promised a half-share of his two-bedroom house in Dundee's affluent Broughty Ferry suburb.

They spent £16,650 for a Ford Cougar sports car and lavished more than £10,000 on a Caribbean cruise, as well as trips to Florida, New York and Malta.

The couple, who had been seeing each other for six months before the win on 15 September, 2000, also used the cash to pay off about £8,000 in credit-card debts belonging to Mr Bunce and gave away thousands of pounds to friends and relatives. However, her jackpot was spent in just 11 months.

In a ruling issued on Friday, Sheriff Tom Hughes concluded that Mr Bunce had been "unjustly enriched" and that Ms Bryson should be awarded £27,880 compensation.

He also ruled that Mr Bunce must pay 8 per cent interest until the money was paid back.

During the case at Dundee Sheriff Court, advocate David Logan asked Ms Bryson if she and Mr Bunce had ever discussed what they would do if they ever "won the big one".

She replied: "No. You don't think it'll ever happen to you."

But after Ms Bryson won the jackpot she felt "all different emotions - surprise, shock".

She added: "Mr Bunce wanted me to move in with him. He said I'd have no excuse now. He said he would sign over half of his house and, in exchange, we would share the money.

"I told my mum the plans and she said I was mad. She said I could buy my own house.

"The outcome was that he would sign over half the house and put it in both of our names and that we'd share the money to do up the house."

They installed laminate flooring in the house and a marble fireplace and bought a new suite and chairs.

Ms Bryson, told the court they had met with a solicitor to change the title deeds to include her name.

She said: "It all sounded so simple - I give him half the money and I get half the house. But the transfer of the title deeds never happened. There were always excuses as to why it hadn't gone through.

"Once all of the money had been spent, Mr Bunce moved out and he forced me to pay rent. By 2002, it had become horrendous. I moved out and found myself and my son a flat."

Mr Bunce and Ms Bryson were unavailable for comment.