Yetholm farm sale raises almost £5,000 for Borders rugby legend Doddie Weir

A sell-off of sheep and machinery held on Saturday by Harrison and Hetherington at Charles and Mary Symons’ Attonburn Farm, south of Yetholm, included the sale of a north country Cheviot gimmer in aid of the Doddie Weir 5 Trust.

An opening bid of £600 generated by offers on Facebook was the initial selling price, but purchaser Burns Haulage, of Morebattle, put the gimmer back up to be sold again.

That process was repeated several times until the gimmer was finally bought by Kelso’s Floors Farming, again for £600.

The total collected for the trust on the day from the gimmer auction, a bucket collection and the sale of a ticket for the following day’s Newcastle United v Liverpool football match donated by James Herdman, of Edlingham, near Alnwick, was £4,779, though money is still being collected.

Further funds will be raised at a testimonial dinner being held at Battersea Evolution in London on Monday, November 6, hosted by Gabby Logan and promising big-name comedians and rugby players past and present. Tickets cost from £295.

A dinner also in aid of the trust in February at Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel has already sold out.

Doddie, 47, of Stow, set up the trust earlier this year after revealing he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, an incurable degenerative condition.

“Since I made public my diagnosis, the response we have received from the rugby fraternity and the general public has been overwhelming,” said the former Melrose player, capped 61 times for Scotland.

For further details, go to www.doddieweir5trust.co.uk