MACHINERY and furniture from a livestock farm which a family has owned for 82 years has been sold at auction.

Birches Farm, in Michaelchurch, Escley, has been owned by the Williams family since they arrived at the farm on a motorbike and sidecar in 1935.

John Williams, current owner was only 10 months old when the family moved to the Golden Valley from the family's previous farm in Raglan.

Due to ill health John has recently chosen to retire and last Friday 300 lots of machinery and household furniture from the farm were sold at auction.

John's brother Glyn Williams helped to organise the auction, he said: "It will be a sad day for the family to see it gone.

"John has been farming here on his own for 60 years. My mother had never actually been to the farm before she got here in a sidecar on my dad's motorbike with John aged 10 month."

After the family's arrival five more children were born at the 40 acres hill farm which they are keeping possession of.

Items sold included: tractors, livestock trailers, tipping trailers, mowers, spinners, spreaders and electric fences.

Workshop and sundary items were also sold and included: pressure washers, a timber saw, a welder, grinder, compressor, generator, wooden beams, piping and iron sheets.

Household furniture was also part of the sale and included a chapel bench, drawers, armchair, wall clock, a dining table and bookcase.

Most of the livestock on the farm had already been sold prior to the auction but also included in the auction was two female sheep dogs aged two, another dog aged one, two geese, one gander and four goslings.

Items included by permission included a IWP6E trailer, horsebox and an M Reg Landrover 90 Station Wagon.

Items were also donated to the auction to help raise funds for Craswall Tug of War Club who have qualified for the World Championships in Sweden.

These included an E Reg Diesel Landrover 90 Station Wagon, sprayers, cattle barriers and a small quad trailer.