A recent lunch date at the Border Union Agricultural Society (BUAS) in Kelso served up a surprise from the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) for a sawmill operator from the Ford and Etal Estate in Northumberland.

Neil Edmondson from Ford village, Berwick-upon-Tweed was presented with an award marking more than 30 years’ service on the Ford and Etal estate by His Grace the Duke of Roxburghe, President of the BUAS, on behalf of the RFS.

Neil grew up on the Ford and Etal Estate where his late father was a tenant farmer.

Lord Joicey, principal trustee and director of Ford & Etal Estates, said: “Neil has been a wonderful member of the forestry team and has always shown immense attention to detail and to safety in the sawmill. It is thrilling that he has achieved so many years of service and he deserves every congratulation and thanks from the Joicey family and the wider community.”

The Ford and Etal Estate includes 700 hectares of mixed woodland with its own working sawmill, processing timber from the estate for sale to contractors, fencers, landscape designers, local businesses etc. The sawmill is known for its flexibility in attending to one-off orders.

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