A DARLINGTON butcher is alarmed at the threat to traditional festive trade from a proposed farmers' market.

Market traders and shops in the town have been told of a pilot scheme, as an added attraction to the popular Christingle markets, in a consultation letter from the borough council.

Mr Peter Wilson, markets manager, has promised to arrange a meeting to try to quell any fears about the extra competition.

Mrs Barbara Carter, from the 95-year-old Yarm Road family business run by her husband, John, said she had ripped down posters saying "Support British Farming" when she heard the news.

She told the D&S Times: "We appreciate farmers have had a raw deal, especially on the pig front. We have supported British beef and farming to the hilt and now they are cutting our throats.

"Our over-the-counter prices are a lot lower than they were years ago and just as many butchers as farmers are going to the wall."

Mrs Carter said she had a list showing that - within living memory - there had been 100 butchers in the town. Now that figure was closer to ten.

"Our costs are going up and customers are expecting a decent bargain over the counter. We already have the competition from supermarkets and it is very, very difficult at times," she added.

l Supermarkets and retail parks are being blamed for the closure of one of Northallerton's oldest family businesses.

S & A Trueman has been a High Street name in the town for 42 years with three generations of butchers trading under the family name.

But manager Mr Andrew Trueman, whose grandfather and father ran the shop before him, admitted the business would no longer be able to survive under the present trading trend.

"We decided to close because of the way trading is going in general," he said. "Out-of-town trading is affecting the high streets definitely. There are a lot of butchers closing down throughout the country."

The shop closed its doors for the final time last Saturday.