Giant festive tractor, Land Rover and 59ft crop sprayer turns motorists' heads in East Yorkshire
This year marks the fifth that farmer’s son Andrew Wilkinson has installed his display, originally created in memory of his dad David who died of cancer.
He has dropped the plough off and attached a crop sprayer to the full-scale tractor - but had to reduce its width to 18 metres (59ft) so it fits into his friend’s garden at Hayton, on the A1079.
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Hide AdThe display, which includes a Land Rover Defender based on the one his father drove, has proved an incredible vehicle for raising funds for Cancer Research UK, accruing more around £12,000 so far.
Mr Wilkinson, who was a farmer but now works for an agricultural dealership, built the display from scratch using metal frames covered in wire mesh.
He chose the green and yellow of the John Deere to match the real thing, while the ultraviolet was the nearest colour to the maroon of his dad’s Land Rover.
He said: “The idea came to me a few years ago. I used to decorate the house for Christmas anyway and I thought it would be a good thing to do in 2016, 10 years after Dad passed away.
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Hide Ad“It’s a completely purpose-built frame and the tractor and the plough have in the region of 6,000 to 7,000 lights.
“It gets a lot of attention - it needs to to raise money. It raised £4,500 last year and I’m hoping I can see that figure again this year.”
Sponsors have put up prizes ranging in value from £50 to a £2,500 ride-on mower.
“Every pound someone donates means a ticket into the raffle - it works well,” added Mr Wilkinson. Hopefully Dad would be proud of the amount of money I’ve raised.”
Followers on social media have been full of praise for the unusual display. Visit www.facebook.com/TheChristmasTractor. It also has a page on JustGiving.
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