A TIDY 21-year-old New Holland TM155 tractor with 13,000 hours on the clock sold for the top price of £16,000 at Darlington Farmers Auction Mart’s summer collective sale of machinery and vintage tractors.

A brisk trade saw a 90% clearance throughout, with noticeable premiums achieved on fencing, gardening or groundwork items while the tidier end of the farm implements exceeded expectations.

Other top-priced lots included a JPM dump trailer at £12,000, while the 19 vintage tractors were headed by a restored Ford 3000 which sold for £6300.

A Herbst low loader trailer made £6100, followed by a John Deere compact loader tractor at £6000 with an Ifor Williams 610 horse trailer selling at £5800.

Some 685 lots were auctioned on the day at Darlington, heading home with 165 different buyers from around the country.