HE is leading the charge to help flood victims in the south.

Beaulieu Young Farmer Chris Gray will head up a convoy of tractors taking hay and straw to farms in Somerset.

After the National Federation of Young Farmers put out an appeal to help their Somerset members, Chris said he could not sit around and do nothing.

The 25-year-old, who works at Cadland Estate in Fawley, said: “I had to do something to help. So I put a message on Facebook asking if anybody could donate anything and now we have three tractors and three trailer-loads of straw and hay.

“Everything has been donated, even the tractors we will use. We are heading down there on Saturday and it should take five or six hours on each leg of the journey.

Junior vice chairman Chris is going with friends Rob Day, of South East Hampshire Young Farmers, and Richard Morgan of Petersfield Young Farmers.

He added: “Because of the flooding the fields in Somerset are spoiling underwater. If grass is underwater for more than 21 days it starts to decompose so cattle down there will not get any feed and it will lead to food prices going up, so we need to do our bit to help.”