CELEBRATIONS started early for soon-to-be married Ian Moorhouse and Laura Hammond when the landed the red ticket at a show and sale of Beltex-sired store lambs at Craven Cattle Markets' Skipton centre, last week.

The couple, from Fouldshaw, Dacre, landed first place with a pen of 25 by a selection of home-bred and Beltex tups and later sold for the top price of the day, £81.50 per head, to the judge, Andrew Phillips, from Burton Leonard.

The second prize pen from Andrew Haggas, Grove Farm, realised £79.50 each while the third prize pen from MJ Wells, Monyash, made £67.

On the whole, Beltex lambs met an improved trade with many pens selling between £68 and £79. This third sale of the season attracted 4788 lambs which averaged £60.26.

Continental and Suffolk crosses reached £67.50 for 137 Texel crosses from Chris Harker, Nesfield, while Mule wedded improved by £3 to £4 on the forntnight to average £52.55, peaking at £58 for a pen of 74 from the Stockdale family, Burnsall.

Also forward were nearly 200 breeding sheep which sold to £130 for continental gimmers from B Roberts, Holmfirth.