Minding the brood is just Mike’s cup of tea

FOR a former hardman of rugby, Mike Tindall clearly has a softer side – if this snap of him yesterday with his children on a giant fairground teacup ride is anything to go by.

The ex-England captain was left to entertain Mia, eight, Lena, three, and one-year-old Lucas while his wife Zara showed off her skills at the Burnham Market International Horse Trials in Norfolk.

It was a tough few days for former Olympian Zara, 40, who was unplaced in two of her events, so having her family there must have provided a welcome comfort.

Tindall, 43, giggled on the fairground ride, top, with Lucas and Lena, who also had a go in a child-sized VW Beetle, above, on a Bratz dolls-themed ride.

Later, I spied Mia catching up with her mum, the Queen’s eldest granddaughter, still looking every inch the equestrian, right, in her riding outfit.

Although the children made the most of the activities, it wasn’t all fun and games – with Mia and Lena narrowly avoiding a run-in with an escaped sheep!