Farmers have helped raise over £73,000 in honour of a rural auctioneer and valuer who died earlier this year aged 59.
A packed ringside of farmers, friends and family jostled to the forefront to bid on a diverse array of lots at Sedgemoor Auction Centre on 21 December.
It was held in memory of Charles Clark, a Greenslade Taylor Hunt auctioneer and valuer, who died of cancer earlier this year.
All the lots had been donated to the Big Farming Charity Auction, organised in Charles's memory to raise money for four charities.
The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), the Farming Community Network (FCN), St Margaret’s Hospice and the Somerset Bowel Cancer Support Group were all chosen.
A varied catalogue ranged from turkeys, livestock and cakes through to holidays abroad and throughout the UK.
The top call of the day was for a luxurious house in Ireland that sleeps up to 14 people, selling for £5100, followed by a fully staffed Sri Lankan Villa selling for £4800.
Many unique items were donated and Charles’ wife Rebecca Pow MP, secured a bottle of Parliamentary Whisky signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the auction.
This created a significant amount of interest and after some spirited bidding, a local farmer secured the whisky for an astonishing £3000.
Farmers were generous in their support of the auction and the four charities, by donating a number of calves and sheep and producing a record calf price as long standing calf buyers chased up a British Blue bull calf to £1000.
The auction itself raised over £70,000, and with a raffle held in conjunction with the Big Farming Charity Auction, the final outstanding total was in excess of £73,000.
