A FARMING community has rallied together to help repair some of the damage caused by devastating floods last week.

Wensleydale Young Farmers (WYF) came to the aid of people affected by the unprecedented rainfall in parts of North Yorkshire, which damaged homes, washed away livestock and destroyed stone walls.

Yesterday, the club gathered together as many able bodies as possible and headed to Reeth for a large clean-up operation.

They were joined by members of Reeth Young Farmers, other farming associations and residents in the area who all ventured into the village to help those who had been hit by the flash flood.

Ed Tiplady, Chairman of WYF, said he was pleased so many turned out to help after an event was created on Facebook.

He said: “We weren’t affected too much by the weather over in Wensleydale. We only got a bit of rain.

“But when we saw what happened here we thought we’d better go and do something to help.

“We thought to ask a few young lads from the young farmers and we ended up making a Facebook event and a lot more people than we thought showed up.

“We were expecting just a few. People are from across North Yorkshire have been coming out all day."

One priority was to restore the show field used for the annual Reeth Show, which takes place this year on August 26.

The field had been scattered with rubble, brick and washed-up debris and the force of water had caused walls to collapse.

Mr Tiplady added: "There’s bricks and stones all over the place and we’re hoping by the end of today we would have rebuilt a wall

"There’s people here from across the county that have came to help today.

“It’s nice to know there’s that many people who would come and help if you're in trouble.

“I’d like to think that if we were the ones that needed help people would do the same for us.”

Volunteers of all ages from as far as Harrogate and Ryedale headed to the Swaledale village to give a helping hand.

Daniel Dent, also part of WYF, added: “The community spirit has come together through this crisis and good things have come out of it from across North Yorkshire

“The farming family community that have come out and helped today has been fantastic.

“I don’t think we expected as many people to come out as they have.

"But it's not just farmers that have faced problems. Everyone has been affected. It’s all the other lines of work as well in the dales.

“Reeth show is the highlight of the Swaledale calendar so the field needs to be back to looking nice and being useable before then.

“It’s a big part of the community and important for to all of us that the show can keep on running.

“But the most important part is making sure Swaledale is open for business. Roads are still useable. Everywhere is open and ready for the summer season."