AN anti-road rally campaigner has been left “mortified” after she and her grieving family were offered a weekend away to avoid this year’s race.

Mary Nolan, of Colchester Road, Stones Green, campaigned against the Corbeau Seats rally when it was held in Tendring’s countryside last year.

She said the cars pass just yards from her house and she raised concerns about a fuel tank nearby.

She said her situation has worsened ahead of the return of the event on April 28.

Mrs Nolan said: “They sent me a letter offering me to be away for the day or the weekend of the rally and they will pay for it all. It’s because I’m a troublemaker.

“They also said they would give a donation to a charity of my choice. They are just trying to get me out of the way.”

The letter said the offer was due to the tragic family circumstances Mrs Nolan has suffered.

It comes after her son, Stephen Lindsay, a bodyguard in London, died from cancer last month. He was 57.

Her grandson has come to live with her as his mother has also died. Mary’s husband, Joseph, has been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

She said: “The week of the rally is when he is meant to be having chemotherapy.

“I was mortified getting a letter like this. It’s horrible, I felt sick when I got it.”

Mrs Nolan said the offer of entertainment and time away was inappropriate for the grieving family.

She is opposed to the return of the rally, which she says is not suitable for the rural roads. She said: “The noise last year was unbearable. It was all the time.

“They said this year we’re not supposed to be in our gardens. I didn’t come here to live on a race circuit.”

A spokesman from organisers Chelmsford Motor Club, said: “Our resident liaison officer wanted to work with Mary Nolan, living close to the rally route, to make the 2019 rally easier for her and her family given their tragic personal circumstances.

“His heartfelt offer sought to give her the choice of a day away from home. Otherwise she may use her resident’s pass to have unrestricted access.

“The rally organisers reiterate their sympathies to Mrs Nolan and her family.”