A Powys Farmer hopes to raise more than £100,000 for charity with the sale of a herd he set up in memory of his wife - adding to the £120,000 he has already raised in her memory.

When dairy farmers Emyr and Evelyn Wigley retired, they planned to travel, spend holidays in their caravan and go on walking adventures in the British countryside - things they had put off whilst devoting their time to farming.

Tragically, soon into their retirement, Mrs Wigley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away aged 69 in 2015.

Mr Wigley, who lives in Deytheur near Llansantffraid, immediately pledged to do something to combat ovarian cancer.

He established the Old Stackyard British Blues, a small, closed breeding herd of pedigree British Blue cattle, in 2016 – the only charity herd of its type in the UK.

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All the money raised from the sale of the cattle over the past seven years has been shared between Ovarian Cancer Action and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) - raising more than £121,000.

“Evelyn and I built up a dairy herd and we managed to be successful only by hard work and much self-sacrifice, with the business needs always coming first,” said Mr Wigley.

“Our plans to travel and to enjoy caravan holidays and walking in the beautiful British countryside, which we both loved, were put on hold until our retirement. It was a devastating blow to learn in the first few years of our retirement that Evelyn had ovarian cancer.

“She was a very special lady, kind, caring and multi-talented. After a lifetime of work, the majority of her retirement years were stolen from her.  Whilst tragically too late to help my dear Evelyn, I had to do something to help combat this evil disease, as a tribute to my wife.”

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Sadly, last month the Mr Wigley was badly injured by one of his bulls whilst preparing it for a sale in Carlisle.

He is lucky to be alive after the “spooked” bull crushed and trampled him, leaving him with a badly injured leg and broken ribs.

Due to his injuries, Mr Wigley has now decided to sell his herd of 33 cattle at Shrewsbury Auction Centre on March 4.

It will be part of auctioneers Halls annual sale of British Blue Cattle and he hopes to raise £100,000 for the charities.

Both Ovarian Cancer Action and RABI have paid tribute to his “exceptional” generosity and the “astounding” sum of money raised for the charities.

Claire Lubbock, Ovarian Cancer Action’s community and events manager, said: “Mr Wigley is possibly our first and last supporter who has sold pedigree cows to raise funds, but his incredible inventiveness, enthusiasm and sheer hard work has made a big difference to what we do at Ovarian CancerAction.

“To have raised £122,000 to support both our charity and RABI is exceptional, and it is with sadness and huge gratitude that we approach this final sale. This sale is hoped to raise enough to fund a specialist researcher for an entire year.

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Kate Jones, RABI’s regional manager for the West Midlands, added: “RABI is so fortunate to have such wonderful supporters, especially Emyr Wigley. The money Emyr has raised is being used to support the farming community when they need it most.

“Representatives from the Montgomeryshire and Shropshire RABI committees will be present at The Old Stackyard Blues dispersal sale on March 4 and we wish Emyr and Laura all the best.

“The sale will mark the end of an astounding chapter – such an amazing achievement. The positive impact the money he has raised has made and will continue to make on those struggling in the farming community is beyond comprehension.”