A BINGO hall in Southend is set to welcome Santa Claus for a Christmas event - in the middle of June.

Mecca Bingo in Greyhound Way, Southend is hosting its "Junemas" event next Friday to reclaim festive celebrations lost last year due to the Covid pandemic.

It is being held as part of "National Bingo Day" celebrations next weekend.

There will be full Christmas decorations, mince pies, Christmas cocktails and a best Christmas jumper competition.

There will also be Christmas crackers with plenty of secret Santa surprises and all of your favourite Christmas tunes.

There will also be a bingo game in support of children’s charity Variety.

Dennis Stammers, General Manager at Mecca Bingo Southend, said: “We are thrilled to host this special and exciting weekend of events, giving a chance to our customers to catch up on missed moments – Merry Christmas everyone.

"With the entire nation being in lockdown last Christmas, many did not get the chance to celebrate like they normally would, so we are determined to turn that into a nicer memory.

"With National Bingo Day’s opportunity to win life changing jackpots, we can’t help but imagine what our customer’s next Christmas could look like.”

Visit nationalbingoday.co.uk.