A GROUP of friends are preparing a county-wide fundraising tractor run after their friends died in a car crash.

Hundreds of tractors are set to rumble down the streets of towns such as Melksham and Devizes as part of the event on September 26.

The charity ride was organised by young farmer Solomon Pegden and his friends after they lost two close pals in a car crash earlier this month.

“We recently lost our mates in a car crash on the A36,” he said. “We were trying to find something positive and something in memory of them is a way of getting our minds off what happened instead of dwelling on it.

“It will be really good and we’re going to try to go to as many places as possible. We’re going to do it for Wiltshire Air Ambulance but also for my mate’s family.”

Many of those involved met their friends while studying at Lackham College.

This week, the friends came together for a photo at Rowdefield Farm (above) ahead of the September ride. They said their friends were “brilliant guys” who would be hugely missed and while it is too soon to name the boys, they added the farming community had come together following the loss.

“We knew we needed to do something,” they added.

Hundreds of people have already shown interest in the event and the number of tractors scheduled to take part is still rising.

The final route is yet to be confirmed, but those interested are welcomed to get in touch with Solomon. In 2020, he raised £786 for Macmillan Nurses on a tractor run around Devizes.

“We wanted to make sure we took in more of Wiltshire this time,” he said.

The run will start at Rowdefield Farm with food available at both the start and the end of the route. It will cost £30 to enter the run, with all proceeds going to charity.

More details will be revealed come September.