The managing director of a forestry company with links to Cumbria is to step down.

George McRobbie will step down from the position at Tilhill Forestry on October 7.

Tilhill Forestry, with headquarters in Stirling, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the BSW Timber Group, which has a mill in Cargo, near Carlisle.

George will continue as a director within the BSW Group based at its headquarters in Earlston.

His successor will be Gavin Adkins, who joined BSW Timber in 2013 as purchasing director and joined the Tilhill Forestry board as commercial director when it was acquired by BSW in 2015.

George said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as Tilhill’s MD for the past seven years but the time has come for me to hand over the reins to younger blood.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Tilhill Forestry and I like to think that I have played a part in the transformation of the business since I first joined the Tilhill board back in 2001.

"There are exciting opportunities for me to develop elsewhere in the BSW Group and I am relishing that new challenge.”

BSW employs 1200 people and has seven sawmills in the UK and one in Latvia.

Tilhill Forestry was established 70 years ago and operates from a network of offices throughout the UK.

BSW Group chief executive Tony Hackney said: “I’m sure that Gavin’s enthusiasm and determination will enable him to continue to build upon Tilhill’s success.

"I am also pleased to be able to continue working with George and utilising the wealth of knowledge he brings to BSW of the forest industry. I wish both George and Gavin every success in their roles.”