A RECORD number of vehicles took part in a sponsored tractor run to help cancer patients in the Borders.

The annual Blyth Bridge and District Tractor Run counted a convoy of 70 vehicles, including many vintage tractors, earlier this summer.

And between them they raised more than £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The convoy started and finished in Blyth Bridge and took in Tweedsmuir, St Mary’s Loch and Peebles along the way.

Organiser Stan Weir presented a cheque to Linda Hamilton, the charity’s local fundraising manager, at Peebles Agricultural Society’s Grand Open Show on Saturday.

And then he revealed they already planned to top that amount in 2016 – their tenth year.

Stan, who started the fundraiser in memory of a friend who died of cancer, said: “Next year is a big year, year number 10. We had 70 tractors this year and next year I’m looking for 100.” The annual event, now in its ninth year, has raised more than £50,000 for Macmillan.

But Stan revealed it would not be possible without the community’s support.

“It’s just a small community and everybody has been so supportive,” he explained. “It’s unbelievable. All the helpers, everybody has been brilliant.” Macmillan Cancer Support revealed the charity relied on donations to provide local services.

Praising the volunteers for their efforts, Linda Hamilton, fundraising manager for Lothian and Borders Macmillan, said: “It’s fantastic, they are amazing. They just go from strength to strength.

“We don’t get money from anyone else other than people like Stan’s team so it really means to much to us. It means we can have nurses, we can give people grants and we can help people who are affected by cancer.”