Trawden’s Jimmy Baines saw his title winners sell for £103 per head, or 236.8p/kg, to Hartshead Meat Company in Mossley, Oldham, though these were just outperformed by his daughter Hayley’s reserve champion pen, which made £104, or 253.7p/kg when joining Vivers Scotlamb in Annan.

Hayley also presented the third prize Continental pen, again snapped up by Vivers at £94 each, along with the first prize pen of Mules, which fell for £77 per head to show judge Bobby Booth, of Edenfield in Rossendale.

Mr Booth acquired four further prize-winning pens, the second prize Mules from Brian Church, of Askwith, at £77 per head, the first and second prize Swaledales from Bernard Simpson, of Heathfield, Pateley Bridge, and Robert Crisp, of Calton, at £76.50 and £76 respectively, and the first prize Dalesbreds from Kevin Wilson, of Blubberhouses, at £66.

In addition, Mr Church presented the first prize Suffolk-cross pen, sold for £86 each to Woodhead Bros in Colne, who also acquired the third prize pen from Simon Barker, of Airton, at £83.50. The second prize pen from Threshfield’s’ Charles and Richard Kitching fell for £78.50 to each Riley Bros Butchers in Dunnockshaw.

Mr Crisp was also responsible for the third prize Swaledale pen, a £70 per head buy by Felliscliffe’s Andrew Atkinson, while James Huck, of Austwick, sold his third prize Mule pen at £77 to Gavin Boocock, of Driffield.

First prize in a show class for Lonks fell to Joey Drinkall, of Anglezarke, Chorley, his charges selling for £78 apiece to John Bowling, of Ashton-in-Makerfield, with the second prize pen from Chris Crowther, of Diggle, falling for £78.50 to Hellifield’s Paul Watson. Show classes were sponsored by Skipton-based Wynnstay.

Sheep trade was similar to the previous week, with well-fleshed, but not over fat lambs in good demand and some nice commercial export sheep selling generally around 190-210pkg again, with the very best end achieving 220-250pkg. The day’s per head high of £109 fell to a Texel pen from Kevin Marshall, of Otley, with a by-weight top of 266.7p/kg for a Beltex pen from Paul Simpson, of Wigglesworth.

Hill bred lambs again maintained the previous week’s decent trade. The overall selling average for the 2,705 old season lambs forward was £75.75 per head, or 182.5p/kg.