Dad on bingo date night left fighting for life after trying to collect winnings

A dad-of-five's date night at the bingo turned into a nightmare when he was attacked by a man on a destructive spree in a casino.

On June 11, 2023, Michael Ambrose, aged 49, and his wife Natalie, 42, from Warrington, were enjoying a game of bingo at a local casino within the Cockhedge Shopping Centre. At first the evening had been going well, with Natalie even scooping a win at bingo. However, their joy was short-lived as they went to collect their prize.

Michael has recounted the horrific moment chaos erupted, with shouting and women's screams piercing the air. Fearing for his wife's safety, he investigated and encountered Constantin Lupo wreaking havoc on the slot machines with a bar stool. It comes after a woman claimed evil 'scammers tried to trick me out of £1,600 but four words gave the game away'.

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"We were out on a cheeky night out without the kids. My wife won £10 and we'd gone to collect it. While cashing out I heard banging and women screaming and running about. I saw him smashing up the fruit machines so I went over to disarm him and try and hold him until the police arrived.

"I was scared for my wife. He was threatening staff but all I could think about was holding him until the police got there because my wife was there, I didn't want anyone to come into danger, especially my wife.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

In the midst of restraining Lupo, Michael was slashed with a lock knife. He described the terrifying moment: "I could feel fresh air on my neck immediately. I held his wrist so he couldn't let go of the knife."

He remarked: "I just wanted to protect everyone else, I had to stop him doing damage to anyone else. He was threatening everyone." Police swiftly arrived and apprehended Lupo.

After the ordeal, Michael was taken to hospital for emergency surgery. He recounted: "The surgeon told me if it had been an inch lower I would have died. I was so lucky. I think that's when the shock of what had happened hit us. It was scary for all the family. It was a crazy date night."

Constantin Lupo, from Fredrick Street, Widnes, received an eight-month prison sentence on Friday, August 1, after being convicted of criminal damage, inflicting grievous bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article in public at a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The court was told how on June 11, 2023, the 37 year old wreaked havoc causing £8,734 in damages by smashing five slot machines with a bar stool at a casino in Cockhedge Shopping Centre, Warrington.

Michael continued: "The manager of the casino was really nice when I saw him at court, he said if it wasn't for me he thought something really bad would have happened to a member of staff."

The father has since released shocking CCTV footage from the casino to the ECHO, capturing the moment his assailant used a bar stool to destroy the slot machines.

During his police interview, Lupo denied the criminal damage charges but admitted he had become "gotten angry at the slot machines," accusing them of "lying" to him.

Detective Constable Stephan Wolstenholme stated: "Even in light of Constantin Lupo maintaining his innocence throughout the entire investigation and forcing the victim to relive the incident in court all over again, I do hope that today's result offers some reassurance to the victim involved in this unjustified and violent ordeal.

"This could have been a potentially life-threatening situation for the member of the public who had, rightfully, challenged Lupo, who could not handle the result of his afternoon of gambling and caused a substantial amount of damage to several machines he had been using.

"The victim was simply doing all they could to stop Lupo's rampage and did not deserve to be violently attacked. Cheshire Police treats every report of assault with the utmost seriousness, and our officers will do everything they can to get victims the justice they deserve."