Almost 200 Pink Ladies take part in tractor run

More than 180 women donned their best pink outfits for an annual tractor run on Sunday.

The Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run returned to south Norfolk and north Suffolk's roads for its 22nd year in aid of Cancer Research UK's breast cancer appeal.

The run has raised £1.36m over the years and organiser Annie Chapman hoped this year's event had raised enough to smash through their total goal of £1.5m.

She said she felt more emotional this year when she saw the number of people cheering them on.

This year's route passed through Thorpe Abbotts, Brockdish, Harleston, Gawdy Hall, Pulham St Mary, Rushall and Langmere Green.

"It is a bit of fun," Chapman explained.

"It's also quite exhausting, it's incredibly emotional.

"We came through Harleston today... it was absolutely packed.

"I couldn't see where I was going because I couldn't wipe the tears away, that's the first time.

"I get choked up, but this year I'm getting choked up talking about it.

"It was so emotional, it was so busy."

The amount of money raised for this year's run is expected to be revealed in the coming days.

Chapman drives one of the oldest tractors on the run – a 1950 David Brown Cropmaster.

In 2004 she had been due to retire, and being a member of two tractor clubs, her husband John suggested she organised a tractor run just for women.

The first run had just 50 vehicles, but on Sunday 182 women took part.

Chapman said hearing the different stories of the ways in which cancer had affected people kept her going each year.

Penny Sheppard joined the run when it was in its second year and said it was "fantastic".

"It always just gets you here and it's always quite emotional when we arrive at Gawdy Hall, but also going through Harleston High Street as well," she said.

"You give everybody a toot of the horn and you've got people lining the streets.

"It's just such a wonderful atmosphere."

Sheppard said she similarly knew lots of cancer survivors or those who had died from the disease.

"My grandma, she died when I was three, that was from cancer, so I don't really remember her," she continued.

"But it's times like this when you remember your family members and friends.

"It's just so important that we raise money to give people the best chance of surviving cancer."

Kim Hutton is in her fourth year of being involved in the run.

"Cancer touches all of us so anything I can do to make a difference to other people's lives is really important to me," she said.

"I lost my dad to cancer. I've lost very good friends to cancer.

"I actually have a blood cancer, which is manageable, thank goodness.

"Really special people in my life are no longer here because of cancer, so this is personal, this is important."

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.