A vintage tractor run has raised more than £4,500 in memory of a Strichen man who died of a rare disease.
Tractor enthusiast Sandy Thain had amyloidois – a disease that causes fatigue, weight loss and organ failure – and died last April aged 75.
As a tribute to Mr Thain, a well-loved figure in the north-east village, more than 50 tractors and vintage cars led a convoy through rural Aberdeenshire.
Organised by the Banff and Buchan Institute of Advanced Motorists of which he was a member, the Sandy Thain Memorial Road Run raised £4,576 for the National Amyloidosis Centre at University College Hospital in London.
Last night the group’s secretary Jane Ironside said she was overwhelmed by the support the event received, adding: “We thought if we got £1,000 we’d be pleased. It just exceeded our expectations. People were so generous and every penny has gone to the fund.
“I think people were so generous because Sandy was such a well known man and because it’s a rare disease. It was meant to be a one off but because of the support was overwhelming we’re organising another on October 4.”
She added that the money would help fund a new MRI machine for the unit.
Mr Thain, a former military police officer and army cadet instructor, had been treated for the disease at the University College Hospital in London.
The centre is the only one of its kind in the UK dedicated to meeting the needs of amyloidosis patients, providing chemotherapy treatments and organ transplants.