THE gavel will come down for the last time at Bude Auctions on Saturday, October 17 in the Villa Hall, Bude.

Owners Adrian and Linda Higgins have been dividing their time between their two auction sites in Bideford and Bude —this has proved difficult and numbers to the Bude site have dwindled, said Mrs Higgins.

The auction rooms were under the management of Kivells for many years until they closed and were re-opened two years ago by Mr and Mrs Higgins.

It had been a struggle to run the Bude site from the couple’s main base of operations at Torridge Auctions and this unfortunately has led to the closure, said Mrs Higgins.

She added: “Thanks to all the locals who have supported us over the last two years; it’s a shame to see it closing but it means we can focus more of our time continuing to grow and expand our site at Bideford.”

The site will be passed on to new management, the name of which is yet to be announced.