Cumbria's Fiona Crackles helps women's England hockey team win gold at Commonwealth Games 2022

The family and friends of a Cumbrian hockey player who helped the women's team take gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games have been celebrating the win.

Kendal's Fiona Crackles was part of the victorious side who defeated the Australian team 2-1 on Sunday 7 August.

The gold is especially poignant for Crackles as it is her first Commonwealth games.

Around 60 people gathered at the Highwayman pub in Crackles home town of Kirkby Lonsdale to watch the nail-biting final where Australia scored 30 seconds before the final whistle.

Landlady Aimee Sharples said: "That last 30 seconds, which was quite a long 30 seconds, it was silent in the garden."

The Australian's valiant attempts where not enough to match the goals of Holly Hunt and Tess Howard.

Ms Sharples added: "It erupted at the end and there was a big countdown for the last five seconds, it was wonderful but yeah there was definitely times where you could have heard a pin drop in that garden last night."

Australia had previously won four of the six women's competitions, since hockey was introduced to the Commonwealth Games in 1998, and had conceded only once before the final.

With good luck messages from the England Lionesses, the women's hockey team followed suit with a similarly sensational win to the football stars a week before.

In celebration, the crowd sang 'hockey's coming home,' something the team have been dreaming of for 24 years.

The pub has now introduced cocktails inspired the hockey-player, the 'Hockey Highball' and the Proud Mary named after Crackles mum.

Mary Crackles said: "Her Dad was even more emotional than Fiona was...it's a dream come true.

"She can't remember it she said it was all a blur, but we're just so proud of her.

"There was loads of fans around, so people want autographs so you have to share her around. It was later on when we realised just what she'd achieved."

Another woman proud of Crackle's success is Sue Hunter who is her aunty and said: "I probably won't speak to her I'll just hug her cry. She's just amazing."

Durham University student, Crackles, has been playing hockey since she was six.

Coming from a farming family is something her mum believes has served her in good stead for sporting career.

Mary Crackles said: "She's not afraid of hard work, I mean many a time on the farm as a farmer's daughter you've got to get involved and she quite often she would milk the cows or she'd be driving the tractor, nothing phased her.

"That has transpired you know in what she was doing, training and she's you know very disciplined."