MORE than 100 tractors are to take to the lanes of the upper dale in tribute to a popular farmer who died of a brain tumour earlier this year.
Richard Scott died at home on March 24, aged 45, after being diagnosed with low grade glioma in 2015. The diagnosis came about after he suffered an epileptic fit.
His wife, Helen, said the tumour could not be removed because the main vein in the brain ran through it, although he did have an operation to debulk it and was treated with chemotherapy. She added: “He died six years to day of the diagnosis. It is so unpredictable – they couldn’t predict what would happen or when it would happen.”
Mrs Scott paid tribute to the staff at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he was being treated before his death.
Mr Scott, who attended Forest of Teesdale and Teesdale schools, spent most of his life on the family farm near High Force where he bred cross-Limousin cattle.
He was best known for his stone work and love of tractors.
Now the family, with the help Mrs Scott’s stepfather Stephen Elliott, has organised a charity tractor run on Sunday, September 12, to raise cash for The Brain Tumour Charity in his memory.
Registration starts at 8.30am at Middleton-in-Teesdale Auction Mart and the entry fee of £15 includes a bacon roll at the start and tea, coffee and cakes at the end.
There will also be a raffle with prizes sponsored by local businesses.
The route will see the tractors travel from the mart to Coldberry and Newbiggin before following the main road to Langdon Beck and over to Weardale.
Classes include best classic, best restored classic, best vintage and best restored vintage tractors.
