Annual tractor run raises hundreds of pounds for cancer support group
Hundreds of people gathered to watch the start and finish of the annual Tractor Run around the Wyre Forest and funds raised for the Kidderminster and Worcestershire Prostate Cancer Support Group are expected to total between £1,900 and £2,000.
The event was officially started by the Mayor of Bewdley councillor Paul Harrison at the Far Forest Sports Pavilion at Callow Hill.
Drivers followed a route through Little Lakes Caravan Park at Kidderminster and the through woodland at Ribbesford and were encouraged to dress themselves and their vehicles in festive decorations to compete for a prize.
They complete the run by gathering at Severnside South in Bewdley and tractors also lined up along Severnside North.
Each driver paid £10 to enter the event which attracted participants from across the county and beyond on Boxing Day.
Ray Attwood, one of the event organisers, said: "Hundreds of people do come to watch the event which is not a race but somewhere people can have a run out and enjoy their tractor.
"We were delighted by the number of spectators who turned out to watch the proceedings along the route and to view the tractors in Bewdley.
Paul Markall, the 77-year-old treasurer of the Kidderminster and Worcestershire Prostate Cancer Support Group, said: "The Tractor Run first started in 2007.
"I was diagnosed with the disease in 2006 and in 2008 had radiotherapy.
"It is important that people know that this is curable but must be caught in the early stages.
"There are as many as 600 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Worcestershire each year.
"Nationally there are as many as 47,000 across the UK diagnosed with the disease which kills about 11,000 men each year.
"One of the big problems is that men do not talk about things like women and We hope that by events such as this we can raise the profile and persuade men to get early checks and treatment."
