Emotional tributes paid to '˜legend' Kathleen Clarke at Mansfield pub's wheelbarrow race

The Sunnydale Inn on Brown Avenue played host to the 44th annual race, which was held in memory of Kathleen Clarke who sadly passed away from cancer in December.

Her daughter, Jenny Kearns, 50, wanted to remember her mum and raise money for the charities that helped her through the tough times before she died.

Jenny - along with her siblings Louise Clarke, Lisa Vere and Mark Simpson - organised the day, and wore T-shirts with Kathleen’s name and picture.

Jenny said: “It was an amazing and emotional day. The pub was packed solid and the whole place was just absolutely rammed.”

Twenty-seven teams began at the Sunnydale Inn, racing around the town in fancy dress before returning to the pub for a well-earned drink.

Jenny’s brother-in-law, David Vere, and his friend Mark Yemm ran the wheelbarrow race dressed an leprechauns as a tribute to Kathleen, who was Irish, and they also won the fancy dress competition.

The overall winner of the race was Thomas Smedly and his team.

Although the wheelbarrow race is a bank holiday tradition, the whole community turned out to make it special for Kathleen as she was a familiar face at the Sunnydale Inn .

The day was a rollercoaster of emotions for her family and those whose lives she touched.

Jenny said: “It was a beautiful tribute to mum, and DJ Gaddy organised a touching memorial.

“For weeks he had been gathering videos of her, and helped organise the singers and dancers.”

She added: “It was a brilliant day, very emotional - I spent half the day crying.”

The Sunnydale Inn raised money for Macmillian Cancer support and Alzheimers Society, and Jenny and her family raised money for Macmillian and the King’s Mill Hospital’s appeal for a new scanner.

Jenny said: “Macmillian did so much for mum.

“She really was a legend of Mansfield Woodhouse and everybody knew her.”

The Sunnydale Inn also revealed a dedicated plaque in Kathleen’s memory.

Irish singers and dancers kept revellers entertained on the day, including a performance of ‘I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen’, as requested by the family.

Tracey Lapko, landlady of the Sunnydale Inn said: “It was a lovely day, the weather was nice and sunny, and we were still going at eleven o’clock on Monday night.”

Although the final amount raised is yet to be confirmed, they hope to top previous year’s efforts - which have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.