Sheep dog enthusiasts rose early after the New Year's Eve festivities for an annual sheep dog trial in Oakworth.

The event at Moor Lodge Farm has become a New Year's Day tradition as organisers, Albert and Carol Mellin, have held the trial at their farm since 1991.

This year Carol and Albert were determined to make the fund raising effort a Millennium special.

Carol says: "We wanted to get to £2,000 to coincide with the Millennium. That was the aim and we did it."

The sheep dog trial, which attracted 71 dogs plus their owners, raised a total of £2,020 for the child development centre at Airedale hospital. The Mellins believe over £8,000 has been raised since the first trial in 1991 which raised only £60.

The trial, which ran from 9am until dusk, was a great success. As well as the nursery and novice dog classes judged by Gus Dermody from BBC's One Man and His Dog, there was an auction and a raffle to add to the fund raising.

First place in the nursery class was given Alan Heaton with his dog Ben and first in the novice class was Bruce Spittlehouse with Nan. Both Alan and Bruce were presented with winners' trophies as well as the winners' paintings, presented every year by Sidney and Gladys Benson.

Star dog handler of the day was Elaine Hill whose dogs Holly, Queen and Jen came second and third in the nursery category and second in the novices respectively.

Jeremy Eaton, of Craven Cattle Market, Skipton, chaired the New Year's Day auction. Two pictures, donated by Frank Yardley, of Keighley, and Mark Whitehead, of Adding-ham, raised just over £100. The sale of five shepherds' crooks also raised over £100.

The star prize in the raffle was bed and breakfast at the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in England, and was won by former Keighley News journalist, Richard Atkins.

Carol says she wants to say a big thank you to all the people who made the day such a success including all those who sold raffle tickets, the shepherds supplied the sheep, to all the people who donated prizes for the auction and raffle and to Cobbydog, of Dalton Lane, who donated 30 bags of dog food.

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