The black-tie event took place at Stanley House Hotel and Spa in Mellor.
The charity evening, organised by Lancashire County Chair Becki Fielding, celebrated everything that is great about farming, while raising funds for a vital service.
Tim Oliver from the North West Air Ambulance Charity gave a talk explaining the costs of keeping the helicopter in the air, the equipment it carries and the ethos of bringing the hospital to the patient.
The service receives no government or NHS funding and is entirely dependent on money raised from the public.
Guests of the ball, which included many farmers and connected companies, enjoyed a three-course meal and took part in a charity raffle and auction compered by Stephen Lowe.
The prizes, which were donated from farmers and associated industries, ranged from farm shop vouchers, meal vouchers, wine, chocolates and hedge cutting to a Fastrac and driver for eight hours, flight simulator and Range Rover experiences and a two-night break in Llandudno.
Dewhurst Agri, a local JCB dealership, sponsored the event and also donated prizes to the raffle and auction.
A brilliant charity
Lancashire County Chair Becki Fielding, who organised the event, said: “Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and came along. It’s been a brilliant learning curve organising an event like this and I’ve met so many nice people and made some new friends. It’s been a very positive experience and I’ve really enjoyed it. I just wanted everyone to have a good night, a good dance and a good party. I’ve got a two year team as Chair, so I probably will be doing it next year aswell.
“I wanted to do this for the North West Air Ambulance Charity because we see the helicopter fly across the farm regularly and you never know when you might need it. They don’t get any funding and I wanted to help keep it in the sky. They have fully trained doctors on board, as well as cars, taking the hospital to the patient. They’re doing a vital thing. It’s a brilliant charity.”
Aarun Naik, Lancashire County Adviser, said: “It’s important that we support the Air Ambulance, because if something happens to a farmer, its likely to be the Air Ambulance that comes for them, and that’s why everybody wanted to support it.
“This event was all down to Becki. It was her idea, she drove it forward and organised everything. She did an amazing job. It’s really down to her that this was such a success in the sense that everybody had a really good time and that we raised such a fabulous amount of money for a great cause.
“A big thank you also goes to Dewhurst Agri, the event sponsors, who were a great support.”
Tim Oliver, a volunteer at the North West Air Ambulance Charity, said: “We cover the entire of the North-West, an area of 5,500 square miles and eight million people. We have three helicopters and four rapid response vehicles and attend well over 2000 calls a year.
“We have been absolutely knocked over by the generosity of the sponsors and farmers at this event. The amount raised was far above our expectations and will make a real difference.
“The money raised by the NFU event would be enough to replace an item such as the LUCAS Device, used to provide CPR to a patient at the scene freeing up the paramedics to tend to other needs and also during time on a stretcher and in the helicopter. It saves many lives.”