A County Durham farmer is launching a quirky charity challenge built around a giant metal bull – and he is taking it all the way to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm.
Steven Nesbitt, from Winston, has welded together a towering bull sculpture from lengths of chain and is taking it on a touring fundraiser for the British Heart Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The eye-catching artwork will visit farms and events, including a planned stop at Clarkson’s Oxfordshire farm, as Mr Nesbitt uses his creation to raise awareness and money for causes close to his heart.
Mr Nesbitt, who runs Alwent Hall Farm and Holiday Lodges, began the project during a period of ill health.
Mr Nesbitt said: “I had some heart problems so whilst I took a break from the farming activities, I wanted to keep myself occupied as part of my recovery, so began using chain metal to make animal skeletons.
“I am president of the British Charolais Cattle Society so decided to make a bull and it became a real labour of love which I am now looking forward to sharing with as many people of possible over the coming months.”
He was inspired to support the MND Association in honour of his friend Cath Muir, a campaigner who lives with the disease.
The bull sculpture will start its fundraising journey at Darlington Farmers Auction Mart on Saturday, May 16.
It will then head to The Great British Farm Fest before stopping at Diddly Squat Farm for the Cereals Arables Event on June 10 and 11.
The tour will conclude at the Stirling Bull Sales in Scotland on October 24, where the bull will be auctioned off.
Half of the auction proceeds will be donated to the two charities.
Additional funds will be raised through competitions inviting people to guess the bull’s weight and the length of chain used in its construction.
Mr Nesbitt is hoping the unusual campaign will capture public imagination and raise significant sums.
He said: “Because it’s something different, I am hoping we can raise tens of thousands of pounds for these two amazing charities and who knows, perhaps Jeremy Clarkson will like it so much, he will put in a bid to have it at Diddly Squat.”
With ambitions as big as the sculpture itself, the farmer is counting on the tour’s success to make a meaningful difference.
Mr Nesbitt is widely regarded as one of the North East’s leading stockmen.
He is also known for having rare Hungarian Racka sheep on his farm.
