A HELMSLEY grandmother who has been in charge of the fur and feather section at a country show is preparing to hand over the baton.

Joan Kent has been organising the rabbits, pigeons, cavies and bantam exhibits at Bilsdale Show for the past 12 years, but is now relinquishing her duties to her granddaughter, Annabel.

Annabel has been a show steward since she was six and her rabbit Brunskie won in each class in every show they attended during 2010.

Joan, who has more than 50 years of experience in rabbit breeding and showing, said: "Annabel has been a steward since she was six and I remember when she had to stand on a box to lift some of the exhibits from the cages to the judges' bench.

"For the past six years I have been showing her the ropes and hopefully one day soon she will take over."

This year's Bilsdale Show will be held on Saturday, August 29, at Thornhill Farm, just a few miles from Chop Gate on the B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road.

There are new classes lined-up for this year's show including sheep, fleeces, shepherd's crooks and hay, as well as the usual livestock, vintage section and trade stands.

Show chairman David Sanderson said that he is confident the show will be a success.

He said: "At the beginning of last year the show's future was looking bleak but with a new team we managed to keep things going and introduce many new ideas."

Entry is £6 for adults and £3 for children. For more information, visit bilsdaleshow.co.uk