A LAND and property agency and an auction mart this week made the first of what is expected to be many donations to an agricultural charity.

George F White and Hawes auction mart announced on Monday that they would give 10pc of the commission on all their public auction property sales at the mart to the ARC-Addington Fund. The fund was set up in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis and already benefits from livestock sales.

However, George F White and the mart are the first auctioneers to make a donation from commissions.

Nigel Foster, of George F White, and Raymond Lund, of Hawes Mart, made the announcement on Monday when they presented a cheque to ARC for £109.50, which represented 10pc of the commission earned on a recent sale of land in the Dales.

"We all witnessed the suffering of the Dales farmers as a result of foot-and-mouth and we wanted to do something to help this community that we are part of," said Mr Foster.

"Public auctions are an exciting method of selling properties and a good way to capitalise on the currently strong property and land market in the Dales."

The ARC-Addington Fund aims to find housing for farmers who leave the industry, so the link with property sales is more than appropriate.

Mike Larder, fund spokesman, said: "We are delighted at this innovative fundraising initiative, which not only provides a welcome income but is also great as an awareness campaign in an area severely hit by the foot-and-mouth disaster."