Crieff cowches land £24,900 for air ambulance

CHARITY: Highland cow art trail cash will ‘ultimately saves lives across the country’

A Highland cow art trail auction in Crieff has raisied nearly £25,000 for the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance.

The Crieff cowches, 11 brightly decorated life-sized Highland cow benches, were sold at a dinner event at the town’s Hydro for a total of £24,900.

Bosses at SCAA say the cash raised at the auction will “ultimately help save lives across the whole country”.

The art trail was placed around the Strathearn town by Crieff Succeeds in a bid to bring more tourists to the area.

Biggest sale of the night was for the cowch sponsored by the Crieff Highland Gathering, designed by local artist June McEwan. The Gathering battled hard to secure their own piece for £3,700 and now intend to apply to Perth and Kinross Council for planning permission to install it permanently in the town.

The second-highest price of the night was £3,600 by local business owner Jock Dewar for the mosaic artwork Sweetie Annie, designed by Katy Galbraith.

Ruth William, of Crieff Succeeds, thanked everyone for their support and generosity. She said: “It’s been such a success and it has helped put Crieff on the map. We’re already looking towards what we can do next year.”

Nick Harvey, SCAA’s director of Fundraising and Communications, praised the Crieff Succeeds campaign, saying: “SCAA is the people’s helicopter, and having the support of so many is humbling. We can’t thank the community enough for its unwavering support of this life-saving service.”