Averages: Ewes, £1200.71; gimmers, £1174.23; ewe lambs, £457.36.

IT was a sad day for all concerned when the Mellin family's Hull House Texel flock from Hellifield, was dispersed, with the sale of 222 ewes, gimmers and ewe lambs at Skipton, last weekend, achieving a total clearance.

This well-known flock which has produced numerous top breeding, high priced, show winning sheep, attracted a huge ringside of old and new breeders, with top prices of 8000gns and 7000gns paid by Aberdeenshire breeders, Neil and Stuart Barclay, buying for the Harestone flock from Insch.

Sale leader was a gimmer by the Knap Wot A Nut son, Tamnamoney Young Willie McBride, the champion stock ram in the 2016 North West Texel Breeders Club flock competition. She is bred from a ewe by Strathbogie Umpire.

Selling north on the same trailer load at 7000gns was the 2014-born aged ram, Strathbogie Umpire, a Scholars Twenty Twelve son out of the show ewe, Hull House Rose, a Knock Orocco daughter that stood third at the Royal Welsh as a gimmer.

Also heading up to Harestone at 3800gns was a 2013-born ewe by Sportsmans Terrific, out of a dam by Castlecairn Red Arrow.

Cheshire-based breeder, Charlie Boden, buying for the Sportsmans flock from Mellor, Stockport, was another to get in on the action, forking out 7500gns for the first sheep in the ring, a 2014-born ewe. She is by Hilltop Predator, a tup that has sired ram lambs to 3400gns and out of a 2000gns Kingsland ewe by Knock Powerpacker which is a daughter of the 2009 female champion and reserve overall at the Great Yorkshire.

Sportsmans then went to 6000gns for a 2015-born ewe by the Brackenridge Strongbow son, Langside Thunderbird Gal, again out of a Catlecairn Red Arrow daughter, with a further 3200gns paid for the top priced ewe lamb, a daughter of Strathbogie Ali G out of a dam from the prolific Rose family, and another by Strathbogie Umpire.

Back amongst the gimmers, Jeff Aiken, flock manager of Procters Farm, Clitheroe, went to 4200gns for a Tamnamoney Young Willie McBride daughter out of a Sportsmans Teerific 11-sired dam.

Another by the same sire but out of a home-bred dam by Hull House Rothchild 1, made 4000gns selling to David McKerrow, Nochnary, Freuchie, Fife.

Two lots by Tamnamoney Young Willie McBride made 3200gns with the first, a gimmer out of a dam by Langside Thunderbird Gal, selling to W Cubbit, Rasharkin, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, while the second a 2014-born ewe by Hull House Undercover, out of a 6000gns Glenside ewe by Strathbogie Python knocked down to Stuart Ferris, Dromore in Co Down.

Another heading north at 3000gns was a 2016-born ewe by Langside Thunderbird Gal, out of a 2000gns Tophill ewe. The buyers were J and MC Wilson, Girvan, Ayrshire.

Averages: Ewes, £1200.71; gimmers, £1174.23; ewe lambs, £457.36.

Auctioneers: CCM Auctions and Lawrie and Symington.