THOUSANDS of pounds have been donated to local and regional charities by Tynedale Young Farmers.

Still flying from the success of their win at this year’s annual Young Farmers’ Club (YFC) County Rally, where they were also the hosts, Stamfordham YFC gathered for their 76th annual general meeting last week.

The event saw the presentation of a number of cheques to four chosen charities, drawing on the £6,000 raised by the club. The Great North Air Ambulance Service, Stamfordham Village Hall and St Oswald's Hospice all received £1,000 each.

The club's chairman, Stewart Carr, said: “We tried to pick causes which were personal to us as a club, and which we therefore were passionate about supporting.

“Stamfordham Village Hall is a hugely important resource for us, because we use it all the time for our gatherings and events.

“We also all agreed that the Great North Air Ambulance was a really worthwhile cause considering our line of work of in agriculture, and how much time we spend in rural areas, we understand how essential having access to the air ambulance is for us. It’s a huge benefit.”

The club also donated £3,000 to Northumberland Young Farmers’.

“It only felt right to give a chunk back to the organisation which we are all proud to be a part of and which we want to see continue to thrive," Stewart said.

“It’s been a great year for Stamfordham, and this rounds everything up very nicely for us. It feels great to be able to give something back and I’d like to thank all our members for making these donations possible, yet again, for another year.”