Barnsley bingo night plagued by 'rotten singer'

Bingo nights are being repeatedly plagued by a "rotten" mystery singer taking over the PA system at a club.

Players were shocked to hear a "screeching" interruption at Darfield Community Centre, Barnsley, in March, and the unknown crooner has since struck six more times.

Christine and David Baker, who run the night, say the culprit is unknown.

The bingo callers are regularly forced to abandon their wireless microphones during the event for the elderly.

The Bakers run the weekly Darby and Joan Club at the centre on Ilsley Road and said they initially thought they had a "resident ghost".

"My husband was trying to call the bingo numbers and he thought, 'I can't compete with this', so he switched the microphones off and just shouted the numbers as loud as he could," Mrs Baker said.

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The club has 30 regular elderly members who meet up to play cards, dominos and bingo.

Betty Hudson said: "We all thought it were ghosts actually, we kept having a good laugh about it but he were a rotten singer - it's a man's voice, a terrible voice."

The callers say a more plausible theory is a nearby resident using the same radio frequency.

"Everyone first thought it was my husband, because when he sets up the microphone system he sings Just One Cornetto or My Way for a laugh just to check if it's working," Mrs Baker said.

Bingo players were surprised to hear a male voice singing incomprehensibly

The couple are undeterred by the disruption, but are intrigued to discover the identity of the interrupting enigma.

Mrs Baker added: "If it's a resident ghost it's not taking up squatters' rights, because I will send him an invoice for room hire."