Couple behind Pink Ladies' Tractor Run 'humbled' by MBEs in King's Birthday Honours
A couple whose celebrated Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run has raised almost £1.3m for breast cancer research said they feel "humbled" after being made MBEs in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Annie and John Chapman first organised the hugely popular annual event in 2004.
The eye-catching spectacle sees women wearing pink as they drive decorated tractors through Norfolk and Suffolk.
The first year involved 50 tractors, but the event, which raises money for Cancer Research UK, has grown so much that 191 tractors have been signed up for this year's run.
The Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run has raised almost £1.3m for breast cancer research (Image: Charlotte Bond)
The Chapmans, who live in Pulham St Mary, near Diss, said the recognition, which follows Mrs Chapman's British Empire Medal awarded in 2014, was a "huge honour".
Mrs Chapman, 83, said: "I feel very humbled and very proud. When we started this it was only meant to be a one-off - a bit of fun - and it has just grown and grown.
"I think part of the reason for its success is that it is for the ladies and that the charity Cancer Research UK is just such a good charity, particularly for breast cancer.
"Twenty-one years is a long time, but we still get a buzz out of it. This is a huge honour."
The Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run (Image: Denise Bradley)
The honour was awarded because of the pair's services to fundraising for Cancer Research UK.
Mr Chapman, 74, said: "I think this is a recognition of what the event has achieved. Annie and I set it on its way, but it's such a wonderful event.
"The years have just whizzed by. When we started it, it was just supposed to be a one-off, but it's taken over our lives!"
Annie and John Chapman (Image: Angela Sharpe)
The tractor run starts at the 100th Bomb Group Airfield in South Norfolk, across the Waveney Valley into North Suffolk.
It then passes through Harleston to a picnic lunch at Gawdy Hall before returning to Thorpe Abbotts.
This year's run will take place on Sunday, July 6.
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