Alan Derryman, a beef and sheep farmer from Sidbury in East Devon has been elected as a British Wool board member for the English South Western region for a three-year term, beginning on April 1.

As well as farming 900 New Zealand Romney ewes and 80 Stabiliser suckler cows, Derryman has spent 25 years as a shearing contractor covering Devon and West Dorset as well as spending time shearing in New Zealand and Australia.

He is also the senior shearing instructor for Southern England, a role he has held for 30 years and a past chairman of the National Sheep Association in the South West.

On notification of the election results, Derryman said: “I am delighted to have been elected board member for the English South Western region and would like to thank all those that voted for me.

British Wool is a farmers' organisation working on behalf of around 35,000 registered wool producers.

British Wool runs day-to-day operations from its headquarters in Bradford, with small regional offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and country offices in Japan and China.