Young farmers raise £12,000 through charity car pull

A team of 60 from Broughton Young Farmers took part in the hilly challenge

A group of young farmers have raised more than £12,000 by pulling and pushing a car for more than 17 miles in south Cumbria.

Broughton Young Farmers' club took part in the hilly challenge, between Millom and Broughton, to raise money for Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team.

The charity car pull was organised in memory of one of the club’s cherished members who died in a farm accident a decade ago.

The mountain rescue team will put the money towards building a new base.

Long hills

Some 60 members of the club managed to transport the car 17.3 miles (27.8km) on Sunday.

They started at Millom School and route took them down Buckman Brow, up Duddon Woods, over Ulpha and into Broughton Mills, before ending in Broughton Square.

Bradley Troughton, who organised the event with friends Daniel Leighton, Johnny Woodhouse, Neil Fell and Jack Shepherd, said it was the first big charity event they have organised since the Covid-19 pandemic.

They did it in memory of their friend, Edward Gabbert, who died in a farming accident when he was just 15.

Mr Troughton said: "Our target was to raise £5,000, but we have had great support from local businesses - 106 paid to have their logo on the car and we knew we were going to make double the target.

"It was unbelievable how many people turned out on the day, we collected £1,400 in our charity buckets."

The car - an old Toyota Rav 4 - was pulled and pushed by four rows of four young farmers.

"It was hard, some of the hills were very long, but we're blown away to have raised more than £12,000," Mr Troughton added.