VINTAGE tractor enthusiasts and agricultural machinery aficionados from across the UK were descending on Worcester today as the contents of one of the Midlands most authentic farm museums went under the auctioneer’s hammer.

Bennetts Dairy’s Farm Museum at Lower Wick, where the Bennett family has farmed since 1918, closed 10 years ago and now owner John Bennett has decided to dispose of all its contents. “I’m 81 and I’m an old man,” he said. “I don’t want to leave any trouble for my family, so I have decided to get rid of it all. The exhibits have been mothballed since 2002 and now is the time for them to go.”

The sale comprises about 150 lots, including a 1935 green crop loader made in Chicago, original tractors supplied by well-known Worcester firm JC Baker and a 1942 potato planter, one of the earliest produced and made at the Bruff Works in Suckley, near Worcester. There are also numerous horse-drawn vehicles and, at the smaller end of the scale, blacksmith’s anvils, hand tools and early milk bottle crates.

Auctioneer Howard Pugh said: “There are some very interesting lots here and values will run into several thousands of pounds. The sale has created interest from across the country.”

The farm park and shop officially opened in 1988, but Mr Bennett had been taking small groups of people around the dairy farm for several years before then to show how milk is produced. The farm museum eventually closed in September 2002 after visitor numbers were hit by that year’s foot and mouth crisis. The Bennett family have farmed at Lower Wick for 94 years and the 200-strong dairy herd business is currently run by Mr Bennett’s son Chris.

The sale starts at 5pm.