YOUNG farmers in Herefordshire have come to the aid of those affected by floods in Somerset.

Noah Barber and Henry Thorpe, both aged 17, led the campaign to take much-needed bales of straw down to the region.

Somerset was hit badly by floods and farmers have seen thousands of acres of their land underwater, with parts of the county submerged for many weeks.

Henry said: "The idea came from Ludlow YFC initially as they had already done it and we'd also read a bit in the Farmer's Weekly about other clubs doing it.

“And really, we thought we would like to help the farmers down there that were flooded with cattle and nothing to feed them on or with fields under water and nowhere to put cattle.

“It was really a mercy mission to go down with some straw to feed some cattle."

Farmers from around the county donated the bales of straw and Tallis Amos, formerly Alexander and Duncan, donated the tractors for the journey to Sedgmoor Market.

Noah said: "We left at about at about 5am and we got to the market at about 11.45am and took more than 60 bales.

"If we ever had any problems they would try and help us. It's helping another farmer out and helping to sort out these problems they've had. It was very hectic but it was completely worth it."

Henry is studying at Ludlow College and has been a member of Teme Valley YFC for around six years, while Noah is a member of Orleton YFC and goes to college in Malvern.

"It went very well and was very enjoyable," Henry added.

"I feel extremely pleased that the farmers round us were so generous to donate bales. It's just very humbling and I feel very proud to have been able to do it. It was for a great cause and people really stood by it and did the right thing.

"That said, we had a few people on the road who didn't quite understand – trying to get through Bristol was a little difficult – but it was a very good cause and went very well."