Three For Friday

The funeral procession for window cleaner Keith Clarke, with his colleague Chris Knowles leads the procession dressed as Elvis.

Sheffield gets All Shook Up with Elvis tribute at superfan’s funeral today: It was a show-stopping final farewell fit for even The King himself. Well-known Sheffield window cleaner - and massive Elvis fan - Keith Clarke was remembered in style this afternoon in an unusual funeral procession through the streets of Intake where he spent years working. Family friend Chris Knowles donned a black jumpsuit and wig while carrying his ladder - watched by onlookers, many Keith’s customers - to lead the procession in a 45-minute tribute to the dad-of-two.

Grandad-of-three Keith, aged 74, lived in Arbourthorne for years and died of terminal cancer. Son Darren Clarke, of Intake, organised the Hollywood-style tribute as a suprise for the family. He said: “Dad had been to Graceland in America with my mum on numerous occasions, I think he’d been about five or six times, he was the biggest Elvis fan you could ever meet. “All the pallbearers are wearing Elvis Presley T-shirts, everything had to be Elvis, Elvis, Elvis for him. “Nobody knew about Chris dressing up as Elvis as it was a last minute surprise.

“Dad did several jobs over the years but for quite some time he was a window cleaner with me in the Intake area, that’s why we wanted to go through all the streets where he used to work. “Dad would have been over the moon to see it - it’s amazing.” The procession made its way from Ridgehill Avenue and through several streets to Newlands Road.

Chris, who has now taken Keith’s place working alongside Darren, then got in one of the limousines which carried on to City Road Cemetery. Money was also raised on the day for St Luke’s Hospice, where Keith died, through collections in window cleaning buckets and a wake is being held afterwoods at The Sherwood pub in Birley. Darren added: “Dad had terminal cancer and it has just been horrendous, he died in St Luke’s. “I think we will have raised quite a lot of money for them from the funeral but I’m also doing a massive walk later in the year from St Luke’s to Bakewell.”

Vanessa Isaac and window cleaner Gareth Windsor.

Torquay Rowcroft patient Gareth marries sweetheart Vanessa and 'now we are complete' - A cancer sufferer who is in end of life care at Rowcroft Hospice has married his fiancee in a fantastic ceremony that made the couple complete. The couple have moved their wedding forward especially because of father-of-two Gareth Windsor's illness. Gareth, 34, and his partner of six years, Vanessa Isaac, 25, both from Torquay, had planned to get married later this year at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay.

However, when Gareth, who suffers from cancer of the bile ducts, saw his condition worsen, they made the decision to get married sooner, and in just eight days planned their wedding. "The main thing was we got married and it was something we wanted to do. "It was very stressful to plan the wedding in eight days but we got it done and we got there in the end.

"The wedding was fantastic and it was a really good day. We went to the Imperial Hotel for the wedding and we had 80 family members and close friends who attended. Afterwards we went to Boots and Laces for a reception and around 500 people attended. "It was really good and we are happy to have got married, and it means a lot that everyone came along in such a short time. "We are thankful for everyone who was there and it was a really good day. We are now complete."

The staff at Rowcroft assisted with the wedding planning by liaising with the Registrar to make them aware of the couple's special circumstances and they exchanged vows on Saturday, and Vanessa said that she wanted to thank them for all the help that they gave them in planning the wedding. The couple, who have a one-year-old son Callum and a three-year-old daughter Frankie, first met six years ago at The Fortune of War pub in Plainmoor, where Vanessa was working as a barmaid.

They have been together ever since, and Gareth, who used to be a window cleaner, said: "I've received the best possible care at Rowcroft, without it I wouldn't have been well enough to get married." Dr George Walker, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Rowcroft, said: "Our philosophy at the hospice is to make every day the best possible day and we were honoured to play a small part in Gareth and Vanessa's wedding."

Daniel Sharp was left half-a-million pounds by Ronald Butcher.

Pensioner left £500,000 fortune to man who cleared his gutters for free: Daniel Sharp who cleaned an elderly man’s gutters for free has been left a fortune in the man’s will. Ronald Butcher, who was described as a ‘private and quiet man’, left Daniel Sharp £500,000 in his will, claiming a friendship was struck up between the two when Mr Sharp refused payment from the 75-year-old to clean his gutters.

However now the family of Mr Butcher, whose dead body lay undiscovered and decaying in his Enfield home for two months after his death, are disputing the will. They claim Mr Sharp is ‘lying’ about his friendship with the pensioner, who altered his will to include Mr Sharp a few months before his death in 2013, and have asked Judge Leslie Anderson QC to revoke the will in favour of an earlier one which leaves his substantial fortune to them.

Mr Sharp said he was ‘shocked’ by Mr Butcher’s will, however claims he had no influence on his elderly friend’s last minute change to his will. While the family accept that Mr Butcher was of sound mind when the will was made in 2013, they have pointed out the ‘odd’ nature of the alteration, arguing this should ‘excite suspicion’ over Mr Sharp’s involvement. Mr Sharp’s lawyer said of Mr Butcher: ‘He found a male friend in Mr Sharp, somebody he could chat to. They had a shared interest in DIY and he liked to hear about Mr Sharp’s son.

Window Cleaner With Brain Cancer Ties The Knot

Happy day: Andre Timberlake-Evans, 39, and his wife Maria, 31, pictured on their wedding day at the Hadley Park Hotel in Telford, Shropshire.

A devastated couple were forced to bring their wedding day forward after being told the groom has just a few months left to live. Window cleaner, Andre Timberlake-Evans, 39, was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer this summer and has been told by doctors that he may be dead within the year. The groom, who will start chemotherapy in the next few days, was determined to walk down the aisle with his partner of 12 years - so he and his partner Maria, 31, organised their wedding in just two weeks.

The couple tied the knot on Friday in a moving ceremony at Hadley Park Hotel, in Telford, Shropshire and their son Max, 12, was their ring bearer. Today Mr Timberlake-Evans spoke of his pride at marrying his bride and said he hoped to at least make it to see his first wedding anniversary. He said: 'I am going to treasure every moment with my new wife. 'This situation puts things into perspective.

Entertainment: Mrs Timberlake-Evans, who sings in a choir, performed at the reception in her ivory dress that she borrowed from a friend.

'It was kind of weird because you're having your happiest day of your life at the back of the mind there's the tick-tock of your body clock. 'It's like the Titanic, while you're all having a party and the boat is sinking. 'Everybody is saying be positive but its like having a guillotine over your head and not knowing when its going to fall. 'But I did forget about that all for just one day. 'I can honestly say I have always stopped and appreciated life.

Sing-a-long: Mr Timberlake-Evans plays the piano while his wife and bridesmaids crowd around.

'My life was always absolutely perfect, I love my family, my job and my hobbies. 'The time we have now is something to be grateful for rather than bemoaning what we don't have.' Mr Timberlake-Evans, a physically fit karate black belt, first began to notice something was wrong in June. He began to struggle to understand what people were saying, muddled up his own words and was constantly lethargic.

The groom - who was forced to sell his window cleaning business following his diagnosis - said: 'One day I just went to thank a customer and couldn't speak. 'I thought the words but I just couldn't say them. I jumped back in the van and came home and just cried.' His wife, show works in a supermarket, rushed him to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford where doctors found a mass on the brain straight away.

Family affair: The couple's son Max, 12, pictured here on a family holiday at Lake Vyrnwy in June 2008 when he was 8, was the ring bearer at the ceremony.

In August the couple were told the tumour was benign after Mr Timberlake-Evans underwent an operation to remove the mass. The groom said: 'We believed everything was fine, I thought then - I want to marry you because life is too short. 'So I proposed, she said yes, and planned to get married in Sicily next year.' But at a follow up appointment the couple, from Oakengates, near Telford, received the news that Mr Timberlake-Evans had Grade four glioblastoma - the most aggressive type of malignant brain tumour.

The groom said: 'The consultant asked if we were planning to get married? 'And I said "yes, next year" and she said "no, do it now." 'I was quite bewildered and Maria just burst into tears. 'She said I had 14 to 18 months to live or three months without treatment. 'We basically had two and a half weeks to arrange the wedding of a lifetime and it turned out to be amazing.' The ceremony was held in front of 70 close friends and family and the couple's son Max proudly took on the role of usher and ring bearer. The bride's ivory dress was something borrowed from close friend Emma Bouyac, 31.

Operation: Mr Timberlake-Evans shows the scars on his head that remain after he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, which he was initially told was benign.

Music was provided by a friend's band, while another DJ'd for the evening celebrations. The couple - who are members of a choral society - also sang and played the piano. Mrs Timberlake-Evans said: 'We were totally overwhelmed by how family, friends, customers and even complete strangers rallied around us to help. 'It's overwhelming to see people's humanity - it really touched us.

Good memories: The couple, pictured here at V festival in 2009, have been together for 12 years and got engaged in Sicily soon after the mass was found on the groom's brain in June.

'You have these plans but one is going to be left behind and it breaks your heart. 'But if you think like that it spoils the time you do have.' We are just trying to do normal things together.' The couple, who are surviving on Mrs Timberlake-Evan's sick pay and tax credits, now hope to raise enough money to go away on a honeymoon. The new wife added: 'I'm not thinking that he's not going to be here. 'I'm thinking we are going to have a bit more time together - and we are just going to enjoy each day of our marriage as it comes.'

Strong: The couple, pictured at home in Telford, Shropshire, vow to enjoy the time they have together.

Marriage On The Cards For UK Window Cleaners

Disabled Andrew’s race to give his vows before he becomes wheelchair-bound - A man with a degenerative condition wants to marry the woman of his dreams – before it’s too late for him to stand to give his vows. Andrew Mullen, 39, faces a race against time to say “I do” to Deborah Langley, 44, before he is permanently confined to a wheelchair.

They started a new window-cleaning business which was a huge success. But within two years, Andrew suffered from crippling pain in his legs. “My whole body would shut down and I would collapse on the spot,” he said. Test after test failed to find the cause. Andrew admitted: “Sometimes the pain was just a dull ache but at other times, I felt like I just wanted someone to chop my legs off. “I couldn’t live with it any more but as much as I did not want to live, I knew the reward of my family was worth it.” The couple moved to Hartlepool in 2009 so Andrew could be nearer the support of his family. It was only then that doctors diagnosed his string of related conditions – degenerative spinal disease, facet joint arthritis, mechanical back pain and nerve damage.

His constant support has been Deborah. The couple have nine children between them with two still living at home – 13-year-old son Down’s Syndrome sufferer Shay Mullen for whom Deborah is a full-time carer for, and seven-year-old son Samuel. “Despite the ups and downs with my health, Deb has been a rock throughout”, said Andrew. “If I could have only one wish, it would be to win this wedding as Debs really does deserve it.” Andrew is now on medication, can stand with the aid of a stick, and gets around using a wheelchair. But he wants to stand up as he takes his vows. He explained: “It is that last piece of independence. “Marriage is very important. When you give yourself, you give yourself fully to your partner. Part of that is a man standing up and looking into his partner’s eyes to give her his vows.”

Will you marry me? Susan pops the question - A woman is taking advantage of Leap Year to propose to her boyfriend. Susan Elizabeth Evans of Rhyl got down on one knee today as February 29 is traditionally the only day a woman can propose to her man. Prospective fiancee Susan, 32, has known her boyfriend “for ages”, but began dating David Gore, 34, when she clicked with him after a friend’s party five years ago. She said: “I did a brave thing last week. I only booked my wedding for next year but my fella has not even asked me to marry him yet! I just walked in the house and told him. He took it well to be fair. He said ‘you booked it, you should ask me!’ So this is my official proposal.”

Susan, former Rhyl high pupil and full time mother, said she would try to persuade David, a self employed window cleaner, to take a day off work to celebrate the first day of their engagement. She said: “He comes home with flowers quite a lot, but we haven’t got much time to be romantic or go out for meals because we have six children between us. It’s a busy household. “I’m not telling him I’ve spoken to the Rhyl Journal. If he gets today off, I’ll take him the paper and a plastic ring for now – or maybe buy a packet of Haribo and use of those rings. I’ll think of something!” The Susan, who was born and bred in Rhyl, and David who is originally from Liverpool, had their first child together last year.