A HAULAGE firm has marked 50 years in business by rewinding the clock to a time when steam powered vehicles played a vital part in its trade.

Prestons of Potto lorries are recognisable in the North-East through its insignia which is a constant reminder of the firm's proud association with the village in North Yorkshire.

Re-creating one of its first ever deliveries back in 1957 a steam-powered vehicle, complete with trailer and canopy, picked up the same pallet load of goods from BPI Films in Stockton and transported it down the A66 to Marshalls, the local manufacturer of natural stone.

Anne Preston, managing director of Prestons and a former Yorkshire Businesswoman of the Year, is the driving force behind a company which employees 330 staff at several sites across the country.

She said: "This was the first time that I have travelled on the back of the steam engine in the 50 years that it has belonged to the firm and it was a very special moment for me.

"The business has moved on a great deal since it started but it is good to remain true to our roots, we have been delivering goods for BPI Films since we started and dropping off at Marshalls is symbolic with our early years delivering locally made bricks in the area."

During the Suez Crisis of 1957, the company used a steam engine to carry bricks from local brickworks to the developing sites of Teesside and Ampleforth. When, in the 1960s and 1970s, Teesside boomed thanks to the Steel and Chemical industries, Preston's business grew too.

After marrying Richard Preston, the son of the firm's founder also called Richard, she has spent the last 40 years keeping the business on the roads and on time.

One of the leading ladies in the normally male dominated environment, she was awarded an MBE for services to the transport industry in 1987.

She said: "I was the first board member of the Road Haulage Association way back in the 80s and it was definitely a male dominated business then - it was good to be a trailblazer.

"I'm very proud of our achievements and we are very proud to be associated with the village of Potto."