Kind-hearted fundraiser Amanda MacBean has won the South West regional prize at Farming Charity RABI's annual awards ceremony.

The ceremony, held in Oxfordshire, was attended by more than 200 people including Lord Plumb, former president of the NFU, John Kinnaird, RSABI chairman and Nina Clancy, RSABI CEO.

The speaker on the day was Sarah Dunning OBE, whose farming family launched the highly-acclaimed Tebay Services and Gloucester motorway service stations.

Malcolm Thomas, RABI chairman, said: “Amanda has been treasurer of our Devon committee for 10 years. She is extremely organised and dedicated and never gets into a flap.

"Without our county committees R.A.B.I would not be able to do the work it does.

"When you boil it right down you realise our organisation is full of people helping others just like themselves, who have been unlucky enough to fall on hard times.”

In 2016, RABI gave out grants of around £2.1 million to farming people in hardship in England and Wales and also helped people claim more than £287k in state benefits and tax credits.

Voluntary income is RABI’s chief source of funding and the charity has more than 50 county committees, who work at a grass-roots level to raise funds and awareness.