Fitting final tribute to a much-loved lady

Carol Clarkson’s family and friends made sure the beloved animal figured large in her funeral at Wigan Crematorium.

The 53-year-old was taken to the service in a carriage pulled by two white horses.

Her husband Derek got on the carriage when it reached the gates for the final part of the journey.

Mrs Clarkson, pictured, fell in love with horses when she was young and went on to win medals and rosettes for competing in shows over the years. She kept three horses at the stables at her home on Martland Mill Lane - Simone and Domino, who have since died, and Bariq.

Mrs Clarkson grew up in Standish Lower Ground and spent her life in the borough.

She worked for the Wigan Post and Observer for 25 years, initially in the canteen and then in distribution, alongside her husband.

She drove a van delivering newspapers, based at the Observer’s office at Martland Mill and then in Preston.

Mrs Clarkson loved to travel and had enjoyed holidays in Egypt, the Maldives and Dubai, as well as a cruise, in recent years.

She also enjoyed gardening and had a flower in her conservatory which had been growing for 40 years. She always had a camera with her and enjoyed taking photographs.

Mrs Clarkson died suddenly on April 13 after falling ill just two days earlier and going to hospital. As well as her husband Derek, she leaves her son John and three grandchildren.

Paying tribute to Mrs Clarkson, her sister-in-law Christine Bretherton said: “She spoke her mind, she had a brilliant sense of humour. She was a crazy lady. She was one in a million.”