‘Jenny’s Fighters’ raise more than £2,000 for Grantham Hospice

A team of runners have raised more than £2,000 for St Barnabas Hospice following a half-marathon run.

Cindy Sutherland ran the event in Chester with friends and family in aid of the Grantham St Barnabas Hospice and in memory of her mother Jenny who died of cancer in December.

Cindy, who took over the running of her mother’s tea rooms in Wyndham Park, said: “Amazing donations. We never thought we’d raise so much money and are all overwhelmed at how many lives mum had touched. The charity does amazing things and this money will help other families in their hour of need, just as they did for us.”

The team, called Jenny’s Fighters, was made up of Cindy’s brother Stephen (who ran a time of 1hr 54min 16sec), sister-in-law Shantelle Janes (1:54:50), Cindy and her niece Olivia (2:11:5), Laura Kettle and Veronica Potjomkina, of The Hairband hair salon in Grantham (2:24:06) and Cindy’s partner Kevin Berridge (2:42:25).

The team was also cheered on by a large group of friends and family. Cindy added: “It was a wonderful day. Our mum would be proud.”

A bench dedicated to Jenny, who had run the Old Pavilion Tea Rooms since 2007, is due to be installed in the park today (Friday).

n Earlier this year, Cindy was given notice to leave the business by September 30. A petition calling on the landlords to reverse the decision has been kept in the cafe and has so far attracted about 300 signatures.