A vintage tractor enthusiast who suffered a devastating house fire four years ago has won a 1960s Massey Ferguson while helping to raise money for a farming charity.
Phil Wormald moved to rural Leicestershire a few years ago, only for the house he was renovating to burn to the ground. “Earlier this year, I finally finished the workshop in the garden and started looking for a tractor to renovate,” he says. Having become membership secretary of the Vale of Belvoir Machinery Group, he had the contacts, and was considering a Ford 3000.
But in the last week of October, he got an unexpected call: The £5 raffle ticket he had purchased as part of a charity fundraiser had come up trumps, winning him an historic MF 35 Deluxe. “I just couldn’t believe it, I was like a giddy kid,” he says.
Phil collected the tractor at the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show on 5-6 November. There, show partner Kelsey Media, which owns a range of classic tractor magazines and runs the raffle every year, presented £6,465 to the Bicton Overseas Agricultural Trust, which helps farmers in developing countries to produce more food and improve their livelihoods.
So what does Phil plan to do with the MF 35? “I’ve no plans to strip it down and turn it into a showgirl,” he says. “I’m just going to cherish it and give it a rolling restoration, and enjoy doing some road runs.”
About the show
The Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show is organised by the Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society and supported by the Nottinghamshire branch of the National Vintage Tractor and Engine Club (NVTEC). The Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society is a charity whose main objective it to promote and champion agriculture throughout Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands region.
Contact for further information
Elizabeth Halsall
Events and Development Manager
Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society
Organiser of Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show
T: 01636 705 796 E: [email protected]
