The Wolds Festive Illuminated Charity Truck and Tractor Run comes to town this Saturday

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Excitement is building ahead of this weekend’s spectacular Wolds Festive Illuminated Charity Truck and Tractor Run, with organisers promising the event will be even bigger, brighter and louder.

Taking place on Saturday (14th December 2024), the tractors and trucks adorned with festive lights and decorations will leave Driffield Showground at 5pm and make their way through Driffield and the surrounding villages.

Huge crowds of people lined the route last year and with their donations helped to raise £8,500 for Elsie’s Appeal and Blood Cancer UK.

This year organisers are hoping people will once again throw their support behind the event which will raise money for Blood Cancer UK and following a public vote, Candlelighters, which supports children with cancer and their families, and agricultural charity RABI will also benefit from the funds raised.

The truck and tractor run is organised by Mark and Nicola Roper from Golden Hill Farms and Nicola’s sister Carly White and Luke Alker. Mark, Nicola and their family from Wansford have now raised more than £20,000 for Blood Cancer UK after Nicola was told she had stage 4 lymphoma in August 2020, two years after going into remission following a first diagnosis.

Following a blood stem cell transplant in 2021, Nicola is back in remission. Mark said they have had a fantastic response to this year’s event. He said: “The preparations are going really well, and we are so grateful to everyone who has come onboard to support us.

“From the feedback we have had it looks as if we are getting another really good turnout. We welcome tractors, trucks, commercial business vans and static floats and we will have the steam engine with us again this year.”

The vehicles will gather at Driffield Showground from 2pm, where the drivers will enjoy a hog roast before heading out through Driffield town centre, and then onto villages including Nafferton, Wansford, Skerne, Hutton Cranswick, Southburn, Bainton, Tibthorpe, Wetwang and Garton-on-the-Wolds.

It is expected the convoy will flash their lights and blow their horns as they make their way around the route, while volunteers will be out with buckets collecting donations for the charities.

Mark added: “We will have volunteers with collection buckets out in force and if anyone misses them, we will have collection buckets available at various pubs and businesses including Deep Blue at Wetwang, The White Horse and the Spar shop at Hutton Cranswick, The Blue Bell in Nafferton, Spread Eagle, The Star, The Buck, Tiger and Butchers Dog in Driffield, The Trout Inn at Wansford, Bainton Stop cafe at Bainton and at the Driffield & Wolds Weekly office.

“The procession will leave at 5pm and we will put regular updates on their progress on our Facebook page. It’s shaping up to be another fantastic event and we hope to put a smile on the faces of everyone who comes out to support us.”

Mark added his thanks to sponsors Dee Atkinson & Harrison, Kent Works Ltd, KWI Ltd, Livingstone Motor Group (Cranswick), Robinsons Contract Services, Robert D Webster, Yorkshire Tyre Specialists, Matthew Watson Transport, Independent Agri Parts Ltd, Belle Hair & Beauty, Skapari, JBW Drainage Beeford, Tokenspire Laundry & Cleaning Ltd, Rix, LAT Property Services, Robert Croft, Pucka Ledges Ltd, Innovate Agri Ltd, Cranswick Pigs, Big Boolies, B I Halder and Son and IMD Fencing.

Route and approximate timings