A FAMILY business has marked 50 years of transporting goods in the Worcester community.

M Pinches and Sons - which is a haulage, storage and distribution firm - has reached a milestone and celebrated its 50th birthday.

The company was founded in November 1969 and was set up by sole traders Mervyn and Janet Pinches.

The business, which is now overseen by Mr and Mrs Pinches’ children and grandchildren, started with one delivery truck, however, it now has 22 vehicles.

Martin Pinches, who runs the company with his brothers and sons, said: “My mother and father are still alive, and they still come down every day to make sure we are doing a good job. They’re still both involved in the business after 50 years.

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“We have a strong connection with family and we are family orientated.”

Mr and Mrs Pinches kicked off the business by delivering coal throughout the city. However, as the summer approached and the weather got warmer, the pair had to expand their business idea to reach more customers.

The office was originally based at the couple’s home at the top of Hollymount Road, in Worcester.

However, due to the company’s growth, in 1985 the business moved premises to Blackpole Trading Estate West.

Martin, aged 60 said: “We got bigger, so we had to move premises.”

The firm, which has employed 35 people, has been the main sponsor for Worcester City Football Club for the past 16 seasons.

Martin said: “We are all football fans in the family and we used to play locally.

“It’s nice to see our names on the football shirts. It’s great to give something back to our own city.”

Martin added: “We are not part of a big group and we have lots of support from suppliers. We’ve worked with the same customers for many years.”

The firm helped innovator Neil Westwood, who appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2006 and secured a £100,000 investment in his business, Magic Whiteboard, from Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden.

The company rented Mr Westwood an office in the yard and organised his storage and distribution on his behalf

Martin said: “Neil first came to us and we helped him work his way up.”