A BINGO caller was ordered to ‘carry on regardless’ when a pensioner fell unconscious during a game.

The caller at Gala Bingo, Crawley, carried on reading numbers while paramedics tried to revive the 86-year-old woman last week, it has emerged.

The unnamed woman collapsed after suffering a ‘medical episode’.

Gala Bingo said it was company policy to continue playing in the event of a customer falling ill.

The woman’s niece, Kay Guidera, said: “Whilst playing a game my aunt passed out. Her daughter and granddaughter were terrified as they thought she was dead because they couldn’t bring her round.

“The caller was asked to stop, which he did, and the manager helped to put my aunt in the recovery position and called an ambulance.

“He then instructed the caller to continue calling the numbers.

“The manager should have asked the caller to stop for a few minutes while the paramedics established what was wrong with my aunt and acted accordingly.

“Instead my cousin had to take them outside so they could hear.”

Ms Guidera said some customers were “so disgusted” they “vowed never to go back” to the bingo.

But a spokeswoman for Gala Bingo said the woman and her granddaughter returned to the bingo hall the following day to thank the manager and staff for their help.

She added: “It was felt by the management that the best option in this case was to continue with the session in order to give the patient the privacy of care and attention and prevent other onlookers hindering the staff/emergency services in doing their jobs properly, particularly when paramedics are carrying out resuscitation.

“Our staff are trained to deal with situations like this and carried out all the correct procedures until the paramedics arrived. Our priority at these times is always with the patient.”

A spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service said the pensioner was unconscious for a “period of time” but was later referred to her GP after treatment on-site.