Butcher's 50 years at market where he got first job

Mr Hughes was presented a commemorative plaque recognising his milestone.

A butcher who has spent his whole working life at the market where he first got a job at 14 has been honoured for 50 years service to his local community.

Geoff Hughes, from Chester, said he started working as a 'Saturday boy' in the city's market within the now closed Forum Shopping Centre in 1975.

He later set up Geoff Hughes Family Butchers in 1996, with his wife, Debbie, who he met whilst working in the old market.

Mr Hughes cut the ribbon to open the new market in November 2022 said: "I never dreamt I would be doing this for so long."

He began working at the market on Saturday's as a teenager

His shop moved from the old market to the new as part of the switchover.

Although one of his abiding memories of the former site is the day a remote controlled hospital bed complete with patient rolled into the market.

"Everyone fell about laughing I still don't know why it was there," he said.

Cheshire West and Chester councillor Nathan Pardoe congratulated him on "this incredible milestone" and said the butcher was "a respected member of the market community, cherished by his customers and other traders alike".

Geoff said in his teenage years many cuts had different names

His current regular customers include the husband of Chester MP Samantha Dixon.

"She is a very busy so it makes sense for him to come," he said.

Other 'celebrity' customers include former St Helens rugby league player James Roby.

"We used to have this small lady coming to us very regularly and we found out her husband was James Roby [St Helens hooker] so we must have been doing something right," he said.

He said the job has changed since he first learned his craft, adding "it's often the names of the cuts that have changed".

Geoff met his wife Debbie while the pair were both working in the market

Mr Hughes said: "What we used to call skirt of beef and use for things like pasties - it is now called bavette steak and people fry it.

"They even cut it in the opposite way we were taught."

"I have enjoyed every day as a market trader. It's been an honour to serve generations of families, and I'd like to thank my customers for their loyalty", he said.

"As the last butcher trading in the city centre I was delighted to be able to make the move to the new market."

The butcher said he was surprised to be asked to open the new market.

His stall is next to the market's two other produce traders, Chester Market Fishmongers and the Sheng Hai Oriental Supermarket.

The new market has welcomed more than six million customers in three years and has won multiple awards.