British Wild West fans recieve fitting send off

British funerals are usually sombre affairs but it was a fitting send off For a Wild West-loving couple who died near the setting of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Such big western fans were the devoted couple that they were married in Tombstone, Arizona in 2002.

Scores of mourners attending the funeral of Country and Western fans Arthur Wilkinson, 81, and his wife Winifred, 75, dressed as Indians and 19th century American soldiers.The Wild West had come to Preston.

The pair were killed during an annual pilgrimage to Tombstone, Arizona, where they were hit by a pick-up truck as they tried to cross a road.

When Dolly Parton's rendition of Keep on the Sunny Side was played during the service, some of the congregation hugged and smiled at happy memories, while others tapped their feet.

The vicar brought chuckles of laughter when he recounted Mick's gun battle re-enactments.

He said: 'Mick being a Southern Confederate, was not always on the winning side. I was told when he was shot it took him rather a long time to hit the dust.'

'Mick and Sylvia loved the Country and Western scene and this brought them together with lots of people who shared their interests - good and faithful friends.'

Speaking after the funeral, the Rev Michael Dolan, said: 'I have done hundreds of funerals but have never seen anything to match this.

'Although the circumstances were quite tragic it really was a celebration of a good life well lived.'

The pair, from Lancashire, died on October 19th in the American town where they were married in 2002.

The couple are pictured left on their Wedding Day