A FARMER who has raised more than £5,000 for Macmillan in recent years held a successful socially-distant fundraiser in a barn.

The coffee morning, held before the second lockdown, has helped Claire Redhead and her supporters raise £2,942 for the charity.

Claire, from Cold Kirby near Thirsk, organised the event with her friend Sarah Seilly, and she wasn’t going to be put off by an international pandemic.

She said: "It definitely added complications, but we were determined to hold our event and do it safely.

“We ensured that everyone was strictly socially distanced and only allowed six people into the barn at a time.

"We’re lucky we have the space on the farm," added Claire who thanked 'the generosity of local people'.

The event was supported by local craftsman John Sisson who donated a dining table and benches made in his distinctive horseshoe design.

It had been proudly displayed in Barkers in Thirsk throughout September and was raffled for the event, raising more than £700 for Macmillan.

Claire is motivated to fundraise for Macmillan after the support her family received when her mum was diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away in 2009, she explains: “Nobody is untouched by cancer and I’m motivated to support Macmillan because of the support they gave my mum when she had cancer.

“The Macmillan nurses listened to what was important to my mum, towards the end of her illness she was unable to get up and down the stairs; but she wanted to sleep in her own bed. The nurses organised a grant which meant we could install a stairlift, this meant the world to mum.”

Sarah, who organises the event with Claire, works for Olympus Keymed Group the company have agreed to donate £250 towards the event.

Adele Burrough is Macmillan Fundraising Manager for Yorkshire said: “Times are tough at the moment for everyone especially those that are living with cancer, we want to say a massive thank you to Claire, Sarah and John for their fundraising effort, as well as to everyone who has supported their fundraising, it’s true to say Macmillan have never needed the money more.”