Ribble Valley young farmers excel in public speaking competition

Young farmers Sarah Carr, from Slaidburn, Grace Ashworth, plus Abigail and Hazel Stansfield from Clitheroe, competed in the finals of the hotly-contested event at Stafford showground and were delighted to come second in the Braintrust challenge.

Brainstrust teams consist of four members aged 21 or under. Teams include a chairman (Hazel Stansfield) and three panellists that have 20 minutes to discuss three topical issues which are both general and rural based and present them to an audience.

The girls chose to talk about topics ranging from homelessness, farm safety and driving age limits.

Having been trained by former Brainstrust champion, Steven Morris, the girls had a very successful and enjoyable day. Competing in county, northern area and northern quarter finals before the national finals, the girls had managed to win each round, however, at national level were narrowly beaten by Wales YFC.

Lancashire YFC also had success in the show choir which managed to come fourth overall.