Rising farming star Lucie dies at 25

One of the rising stars of the Norfolk farming community, Lucie Proctor, died in hospital yesterday evening.Lucie, who was 25, collapsed five days ago at a party at the Barnham Broom Hotel, and was rushed to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

One of the rising stars of the Norfolk farming community, Lucie Proctor, died in hospital on Wednesday evening.

Lucie, who was 25, collapsed five days ago at a party at the Barnham Broom Hotel, and was rushed to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Her father-in-law and Norfolk farmer Ken Proctor said: “It was just one of those absolutely freak things.”

Tests are expected to be held to ascertain the precise cause of her death.

Lucie had been at Anglia Farmers' Christmas party with husband Robert when, without warning, she collapsed.

“It was not a fall but they don't know what it was,” he said. “They were just made for each other, they were peaches and cream and that's what is so tragic. They were such a couple.”

A farmer's daughter, Lucie married Robert in June last year, and had joined the country's rapidly expanding buying group, Anglia Farmers.

She met Robert when she was 15 and it was the Dereham Young Farmers' Club that brought them together.

She recently completed her year as club chairman while her husband, who helps run the family's 300-cow pedigree dairy herd at Shipdham, was chairman of Norfolk YFC. They were both excellent public speakers and competed in the national finals last year.

This spring, while working for VisitNorwich as administration executive, she was one of the three finalists in the regional competition of the PA of the Year. Outside work, she started as an assistant steward at the Royal Norfolk Show and was a steward in the food hall last year.

Lucie, who lived at Reymerston, was also a steward at the Aylsham Show where she collated all the cattle results with meticulous paperwork.

She started helping with the Worstead Festival about five years ago. Farmer Gavin Paterson, of Smallburgh, one of the founders, said: “She was an excellent helper. She volunteered to come in and helped to organise all the stalls.”

And just a couple of weeks ago, she organised the president's dinner when her father-in-law, Mr Proctor, had become president of the national breed society, Holstein UK. “Who organised all that - Lucie,” he said.

Mr Proctor added: “We all loved her. She was such a fantastic person. No two ways about it. She was perfectly good-looking and clever.”

She is survived by her parents, Ian and Annette Alston, of Honingham Thorpe, sister Caroline and brother James.