Hundreds of lots went under the hammer for the Farmers’ Charity Auction, raising over £55,000 with more donations still coming in.
Around 400 lots, from livestock to tickets for X Factor Live, were donated to the auction, which was held at the Harrison & Hetherington Borderway Mart in Carlisle.
The funds will be split between farming charity the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), Heart Centre Cumberland Infirmary, the Stroke Unit Carlisle and Life Education Cumbria.
Hannah Jackson, better known as the Red Shepherdess who left Liverpool for the hills of Cumbria and has been shepherding ever since, opened the event and had her first experience of being an auctioneer.
During a break in the auctioneering, a few of the event organisers offered some extra ‘Strictly Jigging’ entertainment. Four pairs performed Scottish dances in the auction hall and were judged by Hannah Jackson and MP Rory Stewart.
The charity event follows news of RABI seeing a huge 47 percent rise in the amount it paid to help struggling farmers following a particularly difficult year for the industry.
The charity gave out grants of £437,825 to 215 working families in 2018, a significant increase on 2017’s figure of £297,000.
Overall, RABI paid out around £2.22m to 1,248 individuals and families in financial need in England and Wales during 2018.
