A family is hoping to bring a ‘missing’ piece of the traditional seaside holiday back to Great Yarmouth. 

Prize bingo, with its slot machines, tokens and dedicated shop full of household items, was once a familiar sight on British seafronts – but recent years have seen the game virtually disappear.  

Michael Jennings, 41, is determined to reverse that decline – and on December 9 he opened a new arcade on Marine Parade, opposite the Marina Centre. 

“It’s definitely been missed on the seafront,” he says.  

READ MORE: Bingo hall closes after 45 years as last of its kind in seaside town

He runs the business with his family - wife, Sancho, 40, daughters Casey, 17, and Brooke, 13, and son Michael-James, 12. 

Great Yarmouth Mercury: The Jennings family - Sancho, Michael-James, Casey, Michael and Brooke - have opened a new prize bingo arcade on Great Yarmouth's seafront.The Jennings family - Sancho, Michael-James, Casey, Michael and Brooke - have opened a new prize bingo arcade on Great Yarmouth's seafront. (Image: Submitted)

According to Mr Jennings, there are now “no more than 15 prize bingos left in the country”. 

People who have visited the business remark how it reminds them of the good old days, and they promise to bring their children and grandchildren.  

The building the Jennings family is renting once belonged to the Barron family - a name synonymous with seafront fun for over 100 years – and it is believed the property, dating back to the 1920s, was the first purpose-built arcade in the country. 

“We have brought prize bingo back home,” Mr Jennings says.  

The family already run Lucky Strike Amusements in Hemsby and had been looking for something else in the area to expand the business for the kids to take over one day.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: People playing prize bingo at the arcade on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth.People playing prize bingo at the arcade on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth. (Image: Submitted)

Games at the new outlet are held twice a day – at 2.30pm and 5.30pm – with seating for 48 people of all ages. 

READ MORE: Norfolk nostalgia - Old photos of local bingo halls

Among the prizes are vases and cutlery, hand-painted gin glasses, toys and Lego, electrical appliances including kettles, toasters, sandwich makers and air-fryers. 

Currently, the opening hours are Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. 

From mid-February, they are hoping to open every day.