Appeal to help flood-hit farmers

Some farmers lost livestock when their land flooded

Farmers hit by floods are being offered financial aid to help them recover after losing crops or livestock.

The ARC-Addington Fund has been publicising cash payments at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The Archbishop of York is supporting the fund and will ask those gathered at the General Synod in York to make a collective donation.

The Prince of Wales has also made a donation. He is patron of the show, which is under way in Harrogate.

The ARC-Addington Fund was originally set up in 2001 to help farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis, distributing £10.3m to farmers in 15 months.

The immediate impact of the floods has already caused significant misery for many farmers Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said: "The hardship fund aims to give small amounts that other people are not able to give, but that are really needed to sustain the farm business.

"The full personal and financial impact of the floods will not be known for some time.

"However, the immediate impact of the floods has already caused significant misery for many farmers. There are already examples of 600 sheep drowned in one farm in south-east Staffordshire, 350 on another in Tamworth.

"In my own diocese in York in the village of Wilberfoss, 50 outdoor pigs drowned when the river came up so fast that the farmer could not move them."

The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis, who chairs the Church of England's Panel of Rural Bishops, is attending the first day of the Great Yorkshire Show to speak to farmers about the fund.

The Great Yorkshire Show takes place at the Harrogate showground from Tuesday until Thursday and is the largest agricultural event in the north of England.

Heavy rainfall means about 1,500 car parking spaces cannot be used because fields are waterlogged and show organisers have urged visitors to leave their cars at home.