THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised in memory of a stalwart charity fundraiser.

Over £5,000 was raised after two teams of Val’s Vikings took to the water to celebrate the life of a much-missed Pen Llyn woman.

The Nefyn community was rocked by the death of 54-year-old grandmother Val Jones who passed away just weeks after her pancreatic cancer diagnosis last summer.

To celebrate her life, and to raise money for the hospice which offered her “absolutely fantastic care“ during the last week of her life, Val’s family decided to enter two boats into the St David’s Hospice Dragon Boat Challenge at the end of June.

The two teams, under the monicker Val’s Vikings, took on were among 30 teams racing 40-foot-long Hong Kong Dragon Boats on Padarn Lake, Llanberis.

Val’s husband Albi and her daughter Ffion were in charge of the two teams and had hoped to raise a significant amount of money.

Ffion, who works at The Ship Inn, Edern, alongside her father, had expected the day to be a “true testament to a woman who raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity herself”.

She was thrilled when the two teams managed to collect £5,139 for the hospice.

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