MORE THAN two thousand sheep have been sheared in 50 hours, and just over £27,000, which is still rising, has been raised during a marathon effort to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and MND Scotland, aptly named Shear Endurance.

In the spotlight was 23-year-old Grant Hurcomb, of High Balyett Farm, Stranraer, who started shearing at 7pm on Thursday last week, and finished up at 9pm on Saturday evening.

He chose these two charities as they are both close to his heart because members of his family and close friends have been affected by both illnesses.

During those 50 hours, Mr Hurcomb managed to shear 2142 sheep in total, an average of almost 55 sheep per hour, and was supported throughout the entire event by his close friends and family, as well as an enthusiastic audience of Stranraer community members.

Although there were initial fears that the event would not be able to go ahead after Mr Hurcomb contracted appendicitis two weeks ago, he was determined to carry on and managed to complete his shear without any problems, with many of the people in attendance remarking on how fresh he appeared when he was complete, with his only complaint being that he was hungry.

Surviving on half-hour comfort breaks, the young farmer, who is ironically allergic to lanolin which causes rashes on his skin, managed to keep going for the full 50 hours, which beat his own previous shearing record of 24 hours, which he carried out two years ago, again for charity.

After the shearing was complete, Saturday evening saw a dance being held at the farm, with more than 500 people in attendance, where Mr Hurcomb managed to stay standing until 1:30am. 

Although he had looked at making this an official record, Mr Hurcomb was put off by the cost it would take to secure official adjudicators, and did not want to sacrifice any of the money that would go to the charities.

However, as far as he is aware, no other person has managed to shear more than 2000 sheep over a 50-hour period. In total, 129,249kg of sheep were clipped, and 31,429 calories were burned – the equivalent of almost 12 marathons.

Applauding his efforts, Cancer Research UK local area manager, Rowan Main, said: “Grant is a truly remarkable young man. To have sheared more than 2000 sheep and set a new world record while raising money for Cancer Research UK is fabulous. 

“Grant had a huge support team and getting more than 2000 sheep to the farm where the shearing challenge took place was an incredible logistical feat. 

“Our heartfelt thanks goes to Grant, his friends, family and supporters.”

MND Scotland’s head of fundraising and volunteering, Iain McWhirter, said: “I’d like to congratulate Grant for his incredible achievement during his challenge. 

“Grant’s Shear Endurance managed to raise an incredible amount of money, with half of that total going to support people affected by Motor Neurone Disease.

"It’s very admirable that Grant chose to support MND Scotland on behalf of people in his community who have been affected by MND. 

“The amount he raised could help support three people with MND complete essential home adaptations they need to live a comfortable life,” said Mr McWhirter.

“The amount raised could also fund five weeks of our Welfare and Benefits Service, which ensures financial support to people with MND.

"It’s also enough to support 20 MND Scotland Support Group meetings, where people with MND, and their families, can share experiences and learn about how to access further support.

“MND Scotland couldn’t provide any of this support without incredible people like Grant, so we’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks for all his work.”

Speaking two days after the event, sounding upbeat, and not at all tired, the hero of the Stranraer farming community said: “I would just like to thank every single person who supported me before, during and after the shear. 

“So much went on behind the scenes that people aren’t even aware of, and so much work went into that, including help from physicians and dieticians. There were so many people involved and who helped, and I don’t even know where I would start in thanking them all individually.”

On whether he was feeling sore, Grant simply added: “I feel fine. I have a slight pain in my shoulder but otherwise I am well and am looking forward to getting back to shearing. I am delighted to have completed the shear, and hope that it brings a lot of benefit to both charities.”

Asked if he would do it again, he added: “Never say never – I think I could maybe do more than 50 hours next time!”

If you would like to donate to the Shear Endurance fundraising page, you can do so here.