Big-hearted pub owners give £20k to charities

But in the six years that kindhearted owners Margaret and Bruce Clark have run the traditional 1800s inn, they and the Sitlington community have raised nearly £20,000 for charities across the country.

Mr and Mrs Clark, who have been running pubs and fundraising for more than 30 years, are due to retire next Spring.

And they have ended their final year of raising money on a high, collecting £8590.25 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA), the most money ever raised in a single year.

Mrs Clark, 69, said: “We are only a little pub with a big heart.

“We just like helping people and we can’t thank everyone who has helped us to do that enough.

“It’s the customers themselves that have been supporting the charities.”

The couple started fundraising before Christmas with raffles, dominoes and card games during weekly events at the Green Lane Pub.

They have also organised family fun days with stalls, games and bouncy castles, and have given away hampers with goodies donated by Sitlington and Horbury businesses.

Mrs Clark said: “Bruce and I are very caring people.

“We are fine but people are worse off than us and we like doing what we can to help.”

But the couple say they could not have done it without the support of the local Coxley community, including thirty people who took on the Yorkshire three peaks challenge, adding their sponsorship money to the pub total.

Mrs Clark said: “I can’t believe everything that people did and the money they raised and donated.

“Everybody got behind us. They are all wonderful.”

People also walked around Horbury, singing and dancing to collect money.

She added: “They had smiles on their faces at the beginning and they all came back still smiling at the end. It was a great atmosphere.”

The couple, who live above the pub, have also raised funds for dozens of other causes through charity events in their previous pubs.