A TINY Yorkshire village has raised hundreds for a disability care organisation.

Despite its small population of just over 400 people, Burn village, near Selby, has raised £785 for Selby Disability Forum CIC.

The company works to support disabled people in the Selby area.

Phil Dodson, chairman of Selby Disability Forum, was handed the cash at the village pub, The Wheatsheaf, on May 12.

Fundraising events have taken place over the last two years.

Covid brought new challenges for organisers as these events had to abide by government restrictions.

Funds were raised through socially distanced lockdown fundraisers, including a Santa sleigh drive-round of the village for Christmas 2020 and 2021.

Martin Wedgwood, North Yorkshire police neighbourhood policing inspector for Selby, nominated the organisation when he switched on Burn’s Christmas lights in November 2019.

Burn Parish Council chairman, Chris Phillipson, said:

“We’re delighted to donate this charity money and just pleased that we were able, despite being a very small and quite scattered community - and despite lockdown - to keep up our tradition of supporting our Christmas Lights VIP’s charity.”

A spokesperson for Burn Parish Council said:

“Phil Dodson and Martin Wedgwood were amazed and pleased at the amount raised, and both extended their thanks to everyone who contributed.”

Phil said the money would be put to very good use by Selby Disability Forum.

Burn first held an official Christmas light switch-on in 2007, supporting the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and its "Helicopter Heroes".

Since then, many different people have participated in the event.

These have included Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden from Coronation Street), BBC presenter Harry Gration, York’s “favourite panto dame” Berwick Kaler and the Selby Rock Choir.

There was a change of emphasis at the Burn village Christmas event in 2016 when long-serving local postman Myles Boothman became the first “local hero” to be recognised and given the privilege of switching on the lights.

He was followed by Yorkshire Ambulance Service Divisional Commander Paul Mudd in 2017, Jez Rushworth, former interim Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive in 2018 and North Yorkshire Police’s Martin Wedgwood in 2019.