THE highly-coveted Auctioneer of the Year trophy has going, going, gone to Selkirk's Greg Macdougall.

As we revealed last month, the 32-year-old former Selkirk Standard Bearer beat off stiff competition from around the UK win the national Farmers Guardian competition.

Greg, who works for a firm based in North Yorkshire, went one better than last year when he was among the runners-up.

Last week Greg was accompanied to the glitzy awards ceremony in Birmingham by his mum, Laura, and sister, Ashley.

They both watched on as the Richard Turner & Son auctioneer collected his trophy from TV star Vernon Kay.

A delighted Greg told us: “I was honoured just to be nominated so it was a thrill to have actually won.

“I was nominated last year as well, and wasn’t all that confident about winning this time so it was a nice surprise when I got the call."

Greg began working in the sales rings before he’d left school, gaining summer holiday experience at the St Boswells Mart.

And after graduating from Selkirk High he walked into a trainee job.

In 2012 Greg joined Richard Turner & Son to work under Senior Sheep Auctioneer Stephen Dennis.

Steady progress with the gavel led to Greg becoming one of the most respected auctioneers in the south of Scotland and north of England.