WHEN a mature tree toppled in Embsay church grounds, young farmers were quick to come to the rescue.

About 15 members of Silsden with Skipton Young Farmers Club formed a tidy-up brigade and re-built the dry stone wall, removed the brash and branches from the tree and also strimmed and tidied up the church yard.

With many hands to the task, they completed the project on a Monday evening in a couple of hours, said Chloe Dolphin , the club secretary.

She said: "The project was part of a national initiative called the “Countryside Challenge”, launched by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) in March 2016.

"Silsden with Skipton YFC successfully applied to NFYFC for funding in July 2017 as the project qualified under the national federation’s work in Youth Social Action.

"Many of our members are from the Embsay/Skipton area and also have family there, so the Church is of sentimental value to many of us.

"The project allowed us to show the community how young farmers can assist in supporting our local villages. We feel a great sense of achievement having successfully completed the project and will continue to partake in volunteering evenings in the future."

Embsay vicar, Reverend Veronica James said the young farmers were setting a great example by their community work.

"They're so generous of their time when called upon to help communities which is in addition to their regular work," she said.

In December 2015, the NFYFC received funding from the Cabinet Office and Pears Foundation to progress the work of Youth Social Action.

As such, the Federation is supporting YFCs across England with their community projects by providing tools, resources and training to get them started, as well as offering an amount of enabling money.

The Federation is looking to support community projects like Silsden with Skipton YFC’s until the end of this summer.

For further information about the “Countryside Challenge”, please visit www.nfyfc.org.uk/countrysidechallenge