BACKED by a multi-million pound marketing campaign, the craze for bingo is gathering pace in the region, according to new figures released by one of the North-west's major operators.

Buckingham Bingo, in Walkden, has announced record sales and admissions during the past month.

The club, which is part of a 10-strong group of outlets across the North, has generated an 11 per cent increase in sales during October, leading to 61,000 admissions in one particular week. Buckingham has a target of two million admissions this year.

But on the strength of the current set of figures from Walkden, the company said it was optimistic this target could be beaten. This recent boom can be attributed to the company's recent £2 million marketing campaign, which has seen television, radio, bus and poster advertising and promotions in the North-west, Yorkshire, and the North-east.

Buckingham operations director John Anderson said: "We began our new marketing campaign just a few weeks ago, but we've been seeing the effects of it already in our clubs, especially Walkden."

Buckingham Bingo is one of the UK's largest independent bingo operators with 10 clubs across the North-west, North-east and Yorkshire.