A young auctioneer is celebrating a double award success.

Auctioneer David Fearon has been awarded the Certificate of Higher Education in Professional Studies in Livestock Market Operations and Management, as well as the Certificate of Fellowship of the Livestock Auctioneers Association in England & Wales.

David, who works as an auctioneer for Harrison & Hetherington, was presented with the award at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.

Born and brought up in a farming family on the west coast of Cumbria, David joined the company as soon as he left school as a trainee drover.

He then started as an apprentice auctioneer four years later, where he spent a year on the yard and three years in the offices. In his role as an auctioneer David joins a team of twelve other qualified auctioneers within the organisation, working across all of the H&H auction marts.

H&H operates the Borderway mart in Carlisle as well as eight other sites.

David has studied part-time for the last four years whilst holding down a full-time job.

He said: “I am delighted that I have successfully achieved this as the academic work was very challenging. The course provided an excellent opportunity to understand the wider management of livestock markets and the impact it has on the industry.

"This is a really important part of understanding the auctioneer’s role fully at Harrison & Hetherington, which is why the studies with practical workplace experience have been so beneficial.”

Scott Donaldson, joint managing director for H&H, said: “I am delighted with David’s achievements as he has worked extremely hard both in and out of the auction environment to gain this qualification and fellowship status.

"As a business we are always extremely proud when our staff continue their personal development journey, especially when they can reap the rewards of their efforts for their career as well as benefit our business in terms of the high-quality services we offer.”