VISITORS to the countryside this summer should be on the lookout for purple 'critters' as part of a competition to raise money for charity.

The purple bales are appearing in fields as a result of a competition for farmers organised by Carrs Billington Agriculture to support WellChild, the national charity for seriously ill children.

Farmers are being challenged to create their 'critters' from silage bales wrapped in WellChild’s colour purple, which they can customise with special sticker packs provided by Carrs Billington.

Over the past two years, Carrs Billington and their staff have donated more than £25,000 to WellChild with their purple bales campaigns. Farmers taking part in the competition then send in photographs of their bales to be displayed on the WellChild and Carrs Billington Facebook pages.

The farmer whose display is judged the best will receive two tickets for the WellChild Awards 2018, which take place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, later this year. This event, which is attended by a host of celebrities, and often by WellChild Patron Prince Harry, gives awards to inspirational children coping with serious illness, to caring children and to dedicated child health professionals.

If you want to see all the displays from around the country, visit Carr Billingtons’ Facebook page, or search #purplecritters on social media.

Carrs Billington again will be donating at least £10,000 this year to support WellChild’s work with seriously ill children and their families. As part of their support, they will be distributing the purple silage wrap and netwrap supplied by Zeus Packaging Group.

Rae Tomlinson, Carrs Billington managing director, said: “Carrs Billington are delighted to continue our support for a charity that undertakes such valuable work. The efforts of WellChild make a considerable difference to the lives of seriously ill children and we know our staff and customers have enjoyed the purple campaign on previous years.”

For more information about the competition and the partnership, visit the Carrs Billington website at .carrs-billington.com.