Wolverhampton butcher hangs up his apron after 56 years

Colin Bates, aged 69, began his career as an errand boy at his father's shop Edwin A Bates and Son on Green Lane in Pendeford.

Now he is handing over the sausage recipes to his son, Daniel, who will be the fourth generation of the family to take on the business. Colin was preceded by his father Edwin, while his grandmother Sophie also pulled on the butcher's apron for a spell during the Second World War.

"I was 13 when I started out delivering meat on my carrier bike, and Daniel started out in exactly the same way when he was 13," said Colin. "I never considered doing any other job – this is the family business and it is something I have always loved doing."

The Bates family owned three butchers shops in Pendeford during the trade's golden era in the 1960s.

The original shop on Green Lane was followed by further stores in Pendeford Avenue and Warstones Drive.

"At that time it was possible to run three shops all within a stone's throw of one another," Colin explained. "Meat was quite cheap and in plentiful supply, so people started eating pork or lamb four or five times a week.

"This was before supermarkets and people didn't have freezers at home, so customers would come to us on a daily basis." For the past 15 years Colin has run the family's remaining shop, Bates Butchers on Pendeford Avenue. "I have had a wonderful run and I'm sure I'll miss it all," he said.

"We have customers who have been coming to us since my father ran the business, and I will certainly miss seeing them."

Colin's son Daniel, aged 39, said his father deserved a break after so many years at the sharp end.