It took two hog roast pigs from Happy Trotters to satisfy the almost 300 guests who turned out from all over the UK to wish Neville Kingston MRCVS a long and happy retirement after 36 years in practice at Garth Veterinary Group.

Mr Kingston, [pictured above with his partner, Elizabeth] is well known for his forthright approach, and telling it exactly as it is.

He was joined at the event by Garth founder, Michael Horrox, who is almost 90 years of age. Mr Horrox and the late legendary Michael Muirhead set up the Garth practice in the 1960s, and Mr Kingston was a pupil of the regime they established.

The practice was at the forefront of developing a completely different approach to pig keeping; one that is common now through all vet groups.

Their aim was to prevent things going wrong, rather than just being called out when problems arose. This is probably one of the most important things to have happened in our industry, and was a huge contributor to our present day health and performance status.

Mr Kingston's retirement plans include spending more time pursuing his hobby of dealing in Eastern and Oriental carpets.