THE land gave George Thomas a career spanning more than 70 years, and now it’s giving his granddaughter an experience she loves.

Which is why Mr Thomas used his 90th birthday celebrations to raise £600 to donate to the Houghton Project.

In his long career as a farm labourer Mr Hopkins has witnessed some of the greatest changes to agriculture and farming in the course of history.

The motivation for his donation is his granddaughter Lily May, who attends the Houghton not-for-profit organisation one day a week on work experience.

The Houghton Project is set on a farm between Hereford and Leominster, and provides opportunities for anyone who might want to learn a variety of rural skills but needs some extra support and guidance to get involved. People can learn to work with animals, grow their own food, make things with wood, or enjoy cooking, cheesemaking or working in the woods. Mr Hopkins said he could see for himself the benefits to Lily May from her involvement with Houghton and that she had told him, “I love going to the farm, it makes me happy, and I like being with the animals.”.

The project manager Tim James-Moore thanked Mr Hopkins for his generosity.