Farm on the M62: Tragedies that hit entire farm family ahead of lambing season - Jill Thorp

The last week has proved a difficult one with some truly heart-breaking tragedies touching our lives leaving us all feeling utterly wretched. Desperate to pack in as much as possible, the little guy had planned something for every day of his half term holidays. Mid week, after plenty of horse riding, dog training and stunt-bike riding, he headed off to his favourite market, loaded with sheep. Unable to go, Paul had sent his brother with our sheep and John-William was excited about having a day out with his Uncle. The events that unfolded, however, as they approached Bentham market left the pair of them reeling and clearly shaken. A tragic accident had very sadly meant the loss of someone’s life leaving the entire community grieving. There was no excited chatter as the pair of them returned later that day, just a quiet sadness. The little guy was reluctant to talk about it, the confusion and fear over the fragility of life, clearly causing him pain and leaving him lost in a world of grief and confusion.

The tragedy at Bentham wasn’t to be the only one to rock the rural communities of the north as news broke that a lovely lass from a farming background had gone missing. Her picture appeared many times on social media and I, like many others hoped, prayed and pleaded with whoever may be listening that she would be found, safe and sound. After several days of intense searching by teams of truly remarkable people, the worst news possible came to light. The huge weight of overwhelming sadness has torn through our great farming family, leaving us all aching for those closest to her who are now left with the dreadful task of picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.

It’s a terribly difficult time of year for farmers; lambing time brings many challenges. Whilst the excitement of welcoming new life and seeing the meadows fill with bouncing bundles of joy accompanied by that wonderful bleating from mother to young, the weight of pressure and hoping for the weather to be kind and everything run smoothly can be crippling. We’ve made a concerted effort this year to be more organised, get the sheds ready early and basically prepare for more wet weather. Renovation works to the house have now halted so that the yard can be cleared of skips and the welfare cabin. The little guy, who has yet to carry the weight of responsibility and worry, is thankfully our little ray of sunshine and is counting down the days to when he can pull his lambing gloves on and proudly welcome our first lamb of 2025.