Cattle market ready to celebrate success after difficult start in 1960s

FARMERS are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a cattle market that was once dubbed a white elephant.

They believe the auction house in Junction Road has now become one of the best in the country.

Leek Cattle Market's base was unwanted by many when it was built as an £85,000 replacement for Haywood Street Market in 1960.

And the venue has had to survive a host of problems crippling the industry, ranging from BSE to low prices determined by supermarket giants.

But the bustling arena has battled adversity and recently developed into one of the top dairy markets in Britain.

Buyers, sellers and visitors all point to improvements made during the past year at the only livestock auction left in Staffordshire.

Mark Elliott, of Bagshaws, joined operator Leek Auctions Ltd as a director in autumn 2008 and, alongside his wife Meg, has witnessed a resurgence in human and bovine numbers.

He said: "On Saturday we had 325 store cattle, which is 40 to 50 per cent higher than we could have imagined in 2008.

"We also had people here from as far as Thirsk to the north, Lincoln to the east and Warwickshire to the south."

February last year saw the busiest sheep market on record, with 1,800 animals.

In the store section in March, an animal went for £1,000 for the first time in the town's history.

And in December, Leek Cattle Market hit the national farming headlines when it experienced record prices for dairy cattle.

Fourth generation livestock farmer Clive Langford-Mycock, of Waterhouses, said: "Who would have thought a year or two ago that we would have seen more than £2,700 for a dairy animal at our local auction centre?

Dairy farmer Ken Burton, of Basford, has been a regular weekly visitor to Junction Road since 1964.

The 60-year-old said: "I've never been to any other market because I feel privileged to have this on my doorstep."

A dairy and calf show and sale will be staged at the market on March 2 to mark the anniversary.

Visitors will receive a commemorative catalogue at the event.