EWES with lambs at foot sold for a record price of £470 a family at Gisburn Auction Marts show and sale on Saturday, May 3rd.

The sale leader a Beltex cross shearling ewe with single lamb at foot was from Anthony Thompson, Foulridge, Colne, and sold to James Millman, Horton in Ribblesdale, Settle.

A packed ringside saw Mr Thompson, achieve an outstanding trade for his annual consignment of 80 top quality sheep. Local buyers included Richard Wilson, Beckwithshaw, Harrogate, who picked up a Texel ewe with Beltex cross lamb at foot for £290, and Richard Caton, Stainforth, Settle, who bought a smart pen of Beltex ewes with single lambs at foot for £298 a family.

Numerous other pens from the same vendor sold from £200 to £250 a family, mainly to East Yorkshire prime lamb producers.

Duncan Currie, Rathmell, Settle, was in top flight when he sold his run of Texel ewes with lambs at foot for between £235 and £280. Overall a total of 59 lots achieved sale prices in excess of £200 a family.

Continental hoggs with lambs at foot attracted fantastic prices, with regular vendor John Stapleton, Skipton, selling his first prize pen of continental hoggs with lambs at foot which went on to win the overall championship award in the pre-sale show at £240 to David Jackson, Northwich, Cheshire.

Mr Stapleton's consignment went on to level at £250, to average £238 a family.

Father and son team, Raymond and Robert Johnson, Felliscliffe, Harrogate, sold a good run of Mule hoggs with lambs at foot which topped at £210 for the first prize pen. Other Mule hoggs with lambs at foot vendors included Donald Sunderland, Halton Easton, Skipton, who achieved £196 and Edward Berry, Thornton in Craven, Skipton, who sold his pen of second prize Mule hoggs with Charollais lambs at foot at £195.

Gisburn Auction Marts next sale of sheep and lambs is tomorrow (17).