Sheep farmer ‘over the moon’ after William donates £5,000 to fundraiser

The Prince of Wales met Sam Stables in January on a visit to Herefordshire.

By contributor Sam Hall, Press Association
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A sheep farmer has said he was “over the moon” when the Prince of Wales donated £5,000 to his walking fundraising campaign for rural mental health.

William made the donation in support of Sam Stables, a Duchy tenant and founder of We Are Farming Minds in Herefordshire, of which the prince is a patron.

In a message posted on Mr Stables’s Instagram, the Prince said: “Keep going, Sam! You’re doing an amazing job! Thinking of you, W.”

Mr Stables said he was “absolutely over the moon” about the “kind gesture”.

Prince of Wales visit to Herefordshire
William during a visit to a family farm in Herefordshire (Richard Pohle/The Times/PA)

In a post on Instagram on Wednesday, he said: “I’ve just had some incredible news.

“I’m just walking out of Brill, and everything in Brill seems to be brill because I’ve just heard the news that Prince William’s kindly donated £5000 to the walk, which is absolutely incredible.”

William met Mr Stables in January on a visit to Herefordshire to highlight the importance of mental health support across the farming community.

Mr Stables has partnered with the Farm Safety Foundation and their Mind Your Head campaign to walk 142 miles from Ross-on-Wye to London to raise funds for the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs.

The prince became patron of We Are Farming Minds in March last year.

The Herefordshire-based charity provides fully funded counselling, a 24/7 support line, training, social events, information advice and broader support to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.