FARMER John Kirkham doesn't believe in throwing anything away.

Which is just as well for history buffs with an interest in local engineering products.

Ploughs, straw choppers, potato harvesters and ancient tractors are all part of the Astley farmer's collection.

And the majority of implements in his Morley's Hall farmyard "museum" first saw the light of day in the once-famous Harrison and McGregor's Albion Foundry in Leigh town centre.

Most of the machinery was lying discarded when farmer John, 60, decided it was time to refurbish them.

His elder daughter, Christine, coaxed him into putting the machinery on show, alongside David Brown, Fordson Major and Ferguson tractors.

She said: "We pulled some of them from out of the hedges. They belonged to my great-grandfather Tom Kirkham and a lot of them date from the horse-drawn era.

"Half a century ago most of them would have been powered by a Clydesdale horse called Polly."

And Christine, who helps run a shot-blasting operation, cleaned off the rusty relics which are now gleaming like new.

She would appreciate any information on the Albion Foundry products colour schemes to give future projects that authentic touch.

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