ORGANISERS of a family fun day were bowled over after Chancellor Rishi Sunak stepped in to do the opening honours when stars from TV's Emmerdale had to pull out because of Covid.

Over £2,000 was raised for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance at the fun day and fancy dress cricket match in Crakehall, near Bedale.

For over 20-years an Emmerdale All Stars team from the Yorkshire soap has played against Crakehall Cricket Club raising over £100,000 for good causes. But this year the actors had to cancel because of concerns over the pandemic.

One of the organisers Luke Elmfield said: "Mr Sunak was kind enough to attend on Sunday with his family and some of his team.

"He was very good with his time and took a genuine interest in the day and in particular the people.

"The day was a success despite the challenges, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

We still have some monies to come in, but it will be at least £2,000 which we are delighted with given the circumstances and obviously the fact that the Emmerdale cast were unable to attend."

Mr Sunak said: "It was a wonderful community event made all the sweeter by the many months when days like this were not possible.

"Congratulations to the sponsors, the Bay Horse, the cricket club, and everyone involved making in this very successful event happen for the benefit of the village and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance."

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054