A POPULAR local dairy business run by three generations of the same farming family has been sold to a major milk retailer.

Customers of Wroughton's Berkeley Farm Dairy were surprised when they picked up the daily delivery from their doorsteps on Thursday morning to find a note telling them that their milk will now be delivered by Dairy Crest Limited from the firm's Swindon base.

"After so many years we are sad to be giving up the doorstep delivery operation, but it is the right time for us to be doing this," said 47-year-old farmer Nick Gosling, who has run the milk rounds since his father John retired.

The move comes just three months after Nick urged the people of Wroughton to support his traditional local business in the face of competition.

He stressed that he and his wife Christine had no plans to quit farming and in fact were expanding their organic dairy herd. They are also keeping their farm shop and milk bottling plant.

The Wroughton dairy was set up in 1919 by Nick's grandfather Francis Gosling, and for years milk produced by his herd was sold from churns carried by a pony and cart.

"Eventually we had three horse drawn rounds. The horses were last brought out in 1962 when there was an exceptionally severe winter," said Nick.

Nick, his five roundsmen and one relief roundsman, have been delivering to customers in Wroughton, Chiseldon, Old Town, Walcot and Liden.

He said traditional doorstep deliveries throughout Britain had been hit by competition from internet shopping and supermarket milk sold in plastic containers.

Nick said he now needs to concentrate on changing patterns in farming.

Christine milks the herd and was recently featured on BBC Radio 4's Food Programme making butter.

The Berkeley Farm delivery staff and their milk floats have transferred to Dairy Crest's base at the Manor, Westcott Place.

"This was the first morning I hadn't had to think milk rounds," said Nick on Thursday.

"Some days it has meant starting work at 2am."

Paul Lockwood, operations manager at Dairy Crest, said: "It's a sad day for Nick and Christine, but this is the new trend with small operations.

"The only difference is that their customers will now be buying Dairy Crest milk, instead of Berkeley Farm milk. We sell organic as well as non-organic milk."

Christine Hammond, who has worked in the Berkeley Farm Dairy office for 12 years, said: "We have had so many phone calls from customers since they learned the news that I have had to let the answer machine take them.

"Some people who have been customers for years are really upset.

"I had one lady in this morning who said she had been getting her milk from us for 70 years."

smathias@newswilts.co.uk