Mr Ormesher was 50 when he died and although his devastated widow continued running the pub with the help of her sister-in-law Pauline Rose, the mother-of-three eventually found it too much.

Today the two women are preparing to clock up their second season running the White Coppice Tearooms.

Based in the clubhouse at White Coppice Cricket Club, the tearoom is a popular pit stop for the thousands of walkers who head to the Chorley beautyspot.

Mrs Ormesher, 53, who is also a grandmother, says her success is an example of what can be achieved in the face of tragedy.

It was back on July 31, 2005, that Marshall Ormesher was killed.
His widow said: "When he died Pauline came in to help me run the pub with the catering. We've been best friends and sisters-in-law for 30 years.

"The pub eventually got too much but we still had this passion for food and cooking and we looked for something that we could do.

"We were approached by White Coppice Cricket Club to run a tearoom independently of the cricket club."

That was two years ago and the rest, as they say, is history.

The tearoom is open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Nearly all the food is homemade and the customers come from far and wide.

For Pauline, 58, it's very much a career change after spending her life working at Chorley Hospital as a nurse.

"It's very enjoyable," said the grandmother-of-two. "As a nurse I spent all my time looking after people and I suppose I'm still looking after people, in a different sense."

The pair admit that as well as running a business, they also have a lot of fun.

"We had an American couple come over during a visit to see some relatives in Chorley," said Carol.

"12 months later they came back to the tearoom for a piece of homemade chocolate cake."

The majority of the food is homemade and the bacon barms and sausage sandwiches are reputedly the stuff of legend.

Most of the customers are either walkers or people coming to watch or play cricket.

Carol said: "We've made a lot of friends and are very happy.

"Pauline and I spoke about running a tearoom for years so this is our dream. My late husband would have been so proud of me."

White Coppice Tearooms are open on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays between 10am and 5pm.