Celebrities dusted their hats and put on their best clobber for York Races.

ALL IN PINK: Tricia Penrose, left, the barmaid in YTV's Heartbeat series, and Claire Sweeney, of Channel 4's Brookside soap Pictures by Mike Tipping

Among the big names at York Racecourse yesterday was football star Paul Gascoigne, who made a special appearance - along with his Middlesbrough colleagues - for the start of the May Festival, the first meet of the year at York.

The irrepressible midfielder insisted he "wasn't really a betting man" - but he was still hoping he could back a winner.

He said: "The team have brought me along to set a good example to the boys - I'm not really a betting man!

"On the first two races I lost £40, so I haven't done too badly - but I'm looking for a win.

"I'm just here for the day representing the football team. It's been a good day - this is always a great day out."

Friends Claire Sweeney, who plays Lindsey Phelan in Brookside, and Tricia Penrose, who plays barmaid Gina Ward in Heartbeat, both wore pastel-coloured outfits from Karen Millen. The girls travelled to York from Liverpool for the day.

Claire said: "I wasn't really looking for a particular colour - but I bought this all-pink outfit especially for today."

Tricia said: "Lilac is my absolute favourite and Claire and I always shop at Karen Millen. So it's really a case of whatever we fancy - but it seems that pastel is in."

Yellow was also a prominent feature among the women. Michelle Nott, from Wentbridge, was bedecked with yellow.

She said: "It brightens up the day, it's a real spring colour. A lot of people are still with black and last year's grey - so I wanted to be different."

Elizabeth Walker, from Wiltshire, also sported yellow: "I wanted something really bright and cheerful."

The sunshine held out for most of the day - but race-goers were rained out by 4pm, with a torrential downpour.

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