STAN Bargh has been presented with the Country Land and Business Association’s trophy for dry stone walling - and he won’t have to give it back.

In one of her last tasks before retiring as CLA director, Dorothy Fairburn presented the glass trophy to Mr Bargh, from Chapel le Dale, for him to keep after the biennial competition came to a close after 20 years.

“Stan was a regular winner of the trophy in the early days of the competition and we had to ‘persuade’ him not to enter so that younger wallers had a chance to shine,” she said.

“I hope he will enjoy having it on his sideboard for many years. It is a wonderful tribute to his great skill. Stan has walled many miles of dry stone wall on his farm over the last few decades.”

Mr Bargh said: “It is a great honour to be receive this prestigious award for keeps, it will take pride of place in my home. I know some of the earlier winners. I guess once you start to build a dry stone wall it gets in your blood, and stays with you for life.”

Aimed at preserving the county’s ancient craft of dry stone walling, the competition recognised and rewarded the people behind the miles of distinctive walls that define Yorkshire’s landscapes. Held in association with the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild, the competition has run for 20 years.

Mrs Fairburn said the CLA was grateful to the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild for judging the entries over the years.

“They often walked considerable distances up fell sides to inspect the relevant wall. We could not have run this competition without their expertise,” she said.

“I came up with the idea of a competition to recognises the skills of farmers, farm workers and walling contractors who build and rebuild Yorkshire’s iconic drystone walls as part of their daily work back in 2000. After 20 years, it seemed like a good time to end.”

The trophy is a lump of glass resembling a stone for walling, with the etching of a dry stone waller at work on one face. It was designed by Yorkshire glass engraver Jane Debenham with the base carved by the late Alan Smith from Great Edstone near York.