MORE than £10,000 has been raised for a brain tumour charity in memory of an upper dale farmer who died earlier this year.
Richard Scott was only 45 when he died on March 24 after first being diagnosed with a low grade glioma brain tumour six years ago.
Mr Scott’s family launched an on online Justgiving page and raised £2,883 for the Brain Tumour Charity and continued the fundraising effort by organising a charity tractor rally in his memory.
Some 200 people aboard 102 tractors raised an additional £7,500.
The event was organised by Mr Scott’s widow Helen, along with her mum Mary and step-dad Steve Elliott. Friend Caroline Colling also helped out.
The rally raised £7,542, making the total achieved by the family in excess of £10,000.
Mr Elliot said: “The response has been massive – we are very pleased with the support. We expected to raise about £4,000 and it was already £6,500 at that time – I was very moved by people’s generosity.
“It is very heart-warming, overwhelming really. A lot of them [tractor drivers] said they felt very emotional when they passed what was Richard’s house.
“He was a very well-known man. There were some people who couldn’t make it and they were calling in at the house dropping off money.”
Mr Scott’s widow added: “Farming communities are very different to other communities – they do look after each other.”
A diverse range of tractors were on display during the rally, with a 1953 Ferguson being among the oldest to take part.
Mr Elliott said: “It did alright – it got around the course and there were a few that didn’t. We had a couple of punctures and a clutch gave out, but we had a recovery trailer for that.
“It was a lovely day though and the weather was good,” he added.
All participants were treated to a bacon sandwich at the start of the rally, donated by McFarlane’s butchers, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, and the day ended with an auction which added £1,283 to the effort.
The family extended their thanks to Middleton Forge, David Dickinson Agricultural Mechanic, Copley Coal and James and Alison Pearson for offering items for auction.
The family handed over the cash to The Brain Tumour Charity’s community fund-raiser for the North East Helen Rogers at High Force Hotel last week.
She said: “We are so grateful for the fantastic fundraising efforts of Richard’s family and friends, and for all the hard work that went into making the tractor run such a success – it was a really fitting tribute to him.
“Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s and survival rates have not improved significantly over the last 40 years.”
She added: “We are leading the way in changing this by fighting brain tumours on all fronts.
“We receive no government funding and rely 100 per cent on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of people like Helen and everyone who supported the tractor run, that we can change these shocking statistics in the future.”
