Charity auctions again staged alongside Skipton Auction Mart’s 15th annual high profile Christmas primestock show and sale day raised a record £4,400 for the usual three main beneficiaries - Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope, Brooklands Community Special School in Skipton and national farming charity, the Addington Fund.

They followed the normal popular format, with all entries in the 15 indoor show classes, plus other prizes donated by benevolent local businesses and individuals, auctioned off in the main sale ring towards the end of the day to ever-generous bidders, primarily from the regional agricultural communities at a packed ringside.

Going under the charity hammer were both food and non-food related lots in show classes for both adults and children, along with the annual fodder hay competition, judged by Wensleydale’s Alan Iveson, who awarded the championship to the first prize bale of old meadow hay from RKR Wood, of Stokesley, with the reserve championship again falling to Coniston Cold’s David and Jacqui Coates, who had the first prize winners in both the seed hay and haylage classes.

Indoor classes were judged by Margaret Iveson, Christine Clarkson and Annabel Mason, with prizes awarded to individual class winners as follows: Sausage rolls – Pat Eaton, Skipton, Scotch eggs – Janet Sheard, Almondbury, Christmas chocolate log – Hazel Gamble, Easingwold, cherry Bakewell – Jackie Dalby, Hartwith, home-made jam/marmalade – Sue Heseltine, Bolton Abbey.

Flavoured spirit – Eileen Addyman, Skipton, Christmas fruit cake – Cathy Cromarty, High Bradley, Victoria sandwich cake – Sue Heseltine, stolen cake – Pat Eaton, photograph, Life on the Farm – John North Jnr, Giggleswick, festive Xmas decoration – Daphne Wilson, Blubberhouses, children’s decorated wooden spoon – John North Jnr, children’s cupcakes - Neive Ireland, Whalley.

Two single prime lambs were also donated to be sold in aid of the day’s charitable efforts, one from Nigel Boynton, of Grewelthorpe, making £190 when claimed by Charles Haigh, of Haigh’s Farm Shop in Mirfield, another from the Daggett family in Hartlington making £155 to lowland lambs show judge Andrew Atkinson, of Kettlesing.

Skipton Auction Mart’s general manager and auctioneer Jeremy Eaton, said: “Once again, our customers and other kind-hearted individuals and businesses dug deep and raised the bar in netting a record amount for these three amazing charities, which continue to do such wonderful work at both regional and national level. We cannot thank them enough.”