Bank gives £1,500 boost to farmers

A benevolent fund to help Staffordshire farmers who fall on hard times has received a £1,500 boost from Barclays Bank.

The bank agreed to match cash raised from a raffle and promise auction at the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution's (RABI) county committee 10th anniversary dinner in March.

The cash was handed over at a special ceremony during the Staffordshire County Show, at the showground near Stafford last week.

Barclays has supported the RABI event for the past 10 years by match funding the proceeds and has helped farming's national charity to raise tens of thousands of pound to assist those suffering hardship in the farming community. The money raised at the annual dinner contributes to the grant payments made to 20 elderly or disabled beneficiaries by RABI in the county.