WHEN Kingskerswell farmers Jenny and Barry Quant decided that they wanted to raise money for charity, all they knew is that they didn’t want to do it by any old means.

Jenny and Barry, from Redlands Farm, handed over two whopping £10,000 cheques to charity this week, from money they raised at their barn dance and auction event last month.

The evening was held at the farm in July, where local farmers and the wider community were invited to come together to eat, drink, dance and bid.

The auction ran through the evening, where bidders were invited to bid on different lots that were generously provided to the event by the farming community. Items under the hammer ranged from geese to getaways, pavlovas to picnic benches.

Local farmers Pete and Lyn Thorn even donated a week’s holiday to Cornwall for six people. However, the star of the show was a life-size ram sculpture, constructed from old horseshoes welded together by Josh Quant, pictured above.

The sculpture took Josh over 100 hours of work, but made a handsome £1500 at auction. Josh said: ‘It’s just something I do in my spare time, so it’s great to make some money for charity with it.

‘This was my biggest project yet. I thought it might raise a couple of hundred pounds but had no idea it would end up going for so much - the response has been great!’

The auction was in two parts, a silent auction, where attendees were invited to anonymously write down their bids, and a traditional auction, hosted by Rendells auctioneer Jonathon Bell.

Jonathon said: ‘It was a great auction with some very kind donations and lots of people willing to dig into their pockets for a good cause.’

Those who didn’t bid could contribute through their ticket price, through tfood and drink, or by participating in a charity raffle, where the prizes were just as elaborate as the auction.

There was also a well-stocked bar and a traditional hog roast to keep everyone dancing into the night.

Barry said: ‘We wanted to do something that included everyone. We could have done a walk or a run, told people about it and raised money that way, but doing it this way puts something on for the community and makes money for good causes at the same time.

‘We had a hog roast and a bar and a good disco - there’s no better way to raise money than to have a laugh doing it at the same time.

‘We’ve all got a common interest in doing something, we’re all ex-Young Farmers and have been a part of the farming community for many years. For us, this event was the whole package - we had people from the farming community as well as people connected from the farming community coming together and doing something great for charity.’

Jenny Quant said: ‘We would like to thank everyone who helped us raise such a phenomenal amount of money, by either donating the fantastic items to auction, bidding or buying in the auction, donating money or giving their time to help.’

The two charities that the event supported were Devon Air Ambulance and Cancer Research UK. Barry explained why they chose the two organisations: ‘I have so many friends that have been affected by cancer and it’s a brute of a thing, one in two people will get it their lifetimes.

‘The Air Ambulance is really appreciated by us farmers and all people in rural communities. It’s run by volunteers with next to no government assistance so we really wanted to help them as much as we can.’

Gill Botfield, from the Devon Air Ambulance, said: ‘It’s amazing the amount of money that they’ve raised for us, we were not expecting so much. We were flawed by the act.

‘It’s two great causes, especially for Devon. If local people don’t do things like this, then neither charity would have the money to keep doing what they’re doing - especially after Covid.’

After raising such an astonishing amount of money and giving the community a great night, the only question left on everyone’s lips is when the next dance will be.