A group of strong women have helped raise more than £16,000 for a new community hub in County Fermanagh.

More than 50 women worked together to pull a Massey Ferguson 35 tractor four miles, from Irvinestown to Ballinamallard, on Saturday, September 14.

They were raising funds to support the new Ballinamallard Community Hub which will serve the community, offering a number of services including mental health support, rentable office spaces and a coffee shop.

The hub is a community-led initiative of Ballinamallard Methodist Church.

The tractor pull idea came from Caroline Campbell, who is one of the eight trustees of the Ballinamallard Community Hub.

The route began at Irvinestown Methodist Church, proceeding via Irvinestown Main Street before travelling to the Makenny Road and on to Ballinamallard, finishing at the Community Hub.

Mrs. Campbell said: “I had a lightbulb moment when we were brainstorming as to what we could do when we were looking for fundraising ideas.

“I had started out thinking ten women would pull it, but when I asked around just to see what people thought, they were so keen, and all their friends wanted to take part, and the numbers grew.

“We split it up and got all these people involved, and now all of these people are so keen for the hub to open.

“Many were young women with families, and they are the people we want to reach out to.

“We reached out to people right across the community – everyone who took part was brilliant.”

The ladies pulled the tractor, driven by Leslie Campbell, using a specially designed frame, and in teams of ten.

The tractor pull gained some attention and made headlines on both the BBC Radio Ulster news, and Downtown Radio news.

Mrs. Campbell noted there had been a large support for the initiative from the community and as the women pulled the tractor into Ballinamallard, the streets of the village was packed with well-wishers.

She added: “The street was lined with people when we returned to Ballinamallard.”

Mrs. Campbell explained that the Community Hub is an “initiative of Ballinamallard Methodist Church, but we want the hub to attract everyone from the community”.

Following the walk, there were refreshments at the hub, where people were able to view artists' impressions of the final design.

If you wish to donate to the fundraiser, you can do so by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/y438fr5d.