THE children of the best-selling All Creatures Great And Small author are battling to preserve their father's legacy after discovering moves to use the James Herriot name to brand a range of enterprises.

Rosie Page and Jim Wight said celebrated Thirsk-based vet Alf Wight would have been appalled at the thought of his alter ego being used commercially and that they were examining how they could object to the branding.

They said they had been stunned to discover a firm based in Carperby, near Leyburn, had registered several variants of the Herriot name as trademarks without consulting them.

The James Herriot Co Ltd, which is run by David and Ann Kiely, registered 'Herriots Spring Water' as a trademark in 1993, and 'James Herriot' in 2012 to cover a range of beverages.

It also trademarked 'Herriot' last year, for a range of medical, beauty and agricultural classes, including veterinary services, as well as restaurant and hotel classes, ranging from boarding for animals and cafes to glassware and creches.

Mr Wight said: "We are pretty upset about this, my father would have hated it.

"He was not a greedy man, he paid tax at 83 per cent and wanted the name James Herriot only to be used for anything that helped the local community, such as Herriot Hospice Homecare.

"I didn't know this sort of thing could happen without the permission of the family involved - I wouldn't go and sell Agatha Christie t-shirts."

"I want businesses around here who are approached about using these brands to know that this is nothing to do with us."

Mrs Kiely, who also runs Manor Grange Farm riding holidays and rare breeds visitor centre at Carperby, said her firm had acted entirely properly and interested parties had been given ample opportunity to object to the trademarks before they were registered.

She said she had spoken to Alf Wight in the early 1990s about using the Herriot name on bottled water.

She said: "It was with the approval of Alf Wight, we lived on their doorstep at the time and sold the water through the James Herriot centre in Thirsk, which assisted with the design of the label.

"It wasn't something that was done on the spur of the moment."

Mrs Kiely said she wanted to use the Herriot name to market good quality products and use the brand to help sell local products to supermarkets, and in doing so, boost the area's economy.

She added she had instructed solicitors over the matter.