Fun day near Market Drayton raising money in Yvonne's memory

The event at the Peel Arms at Ashley, near Market Drayton, goes on every two years and includes a raffle, an auction featuring more than 80 lots, a barbecue, games and stalls of all kinds to support the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

This year's will take place on June 15 around the pub, though landlady Margaret Weaver said the whole village gets involved.

"It's a very very nice community, we all get together to raise this money," she said.

"It all started when one of our customers' sister passed away, and they were so good at the hospice.

"Most of our friends and even my mother have had care from the hospice at Blurton."

The fun days have been a biennial fixture of the village for at least 12 years, and Margaret originally started helping alongside her husband Graham.

He died 10 years ago, but Margaret and her daughters have worked hard to keep the fun days going and over the years the events have raised more than £48,000 for the Stoke-on-Trent-based 'Dougie Mac' hospice.

The fundraising began after the death of Irene Tomlinson, the sister of Yvonne Sutton and June Burgess.

She died in the hospice and Yvonne and husband Colin began organising the fundraising in her memory.

Margaret said: "It's just a great day and we're hoping to raise quite a bit. Every bit helps no matter how much it is.

"We're a very close community, everybody helps everybody out.

"It's not just myself or my daughters, it's everyone in the village. It's a little village with a big heart."

The last event two years ago raised £13,000, and the one before that more than £10,000.