FUNDRAISING activities ranging from making scarecrows to taking part in a tug-of-war have been organised by students at a college in York to help farmers who have been badly hit by floods in the south of England.

The events ran over a two-week period, starting at the end of February, at Askham Bryan College, which specialises in land-based agricultural courses.

Students at its York campus decided to raise cash for farmers following widespread coverage of the devastating floods which hit parts of the south after Christmas.

Organisers said their aim was to involve students from all the college's various sites in the money-making initiatives, with one agricultural apprentice getting the ball rolling by taking a trailer-load of hay and straw to a farmer and friend dealing with the fall-out from the floods in Somerset.