Scrap metal firm keeping it in the family 144 years after founder set off on his horse and cart

Edward Platt and Sons is one of Bolton's oldest businesses, pre-dating Warburtons which was established in 1876 - only jewellers Prestons was set up three years earlier.

The principle behind the business has not changed too much since those days, but as time has passed the firm has moved with the times and continued to serve its customers.

Aged 23 in 1872, Edward Platt proved there was some truth behind the saying: "Where there's muck, there's brass."

He set off with his horse and cart searching for scrap metal and rags, with more horses and carts soon needed to return his findings to his cottage in Simpson Street, Bolton.

Edward died in 1893 and his sons followed him into the business.

The company is still firmly family run, with Melanie Platt, Edward's great-great granddaughter still involved in the business, along with her husband Phil Williamson and sons Simon, aged 26, and Josh, aged 22.

Their daughter Charlotte, aged 14, also plans to join the company after leaving school.

The business is still going from strength to strength, based in Waterloo Street, Bolton, having moved from its previous site near Relph's Funeral Directors in Blackburn Road in the 1970s.

Mr Williamson, who has been involved in the company for 25 years, said: "It is still the same kind of work, not wood or glass any more but just metals.

"We have been here so long, we hope that shows people that we know what we are doing."

Instead of a horse and cart, Platt and Sons has a large site in Wellington Works where customers can take advantage of a fast food-style drive-through service, where they can park in the yard and deposit their metals and receive their payment after showing ID.

The family say some of the strangest things which have been dropped off include propellers from aeroplanes, zinc coffins used to repatriate people from other countries, and parts from a nuclear submarine.

A major change in the way the industry works came in 2012 when cash transactions at metal scrap yards were outlawed in a bid to crackdown on cable theft.

Copper is the most profitable metal which the firm receives, with smaller pieces of metal being separated into skips and larger metal being crushed into more small manageable blocks.

The yard is run by the four family members, as well as two family friends completing the team of six.

Only a handful of scrap metal companies remain in Bolton, but Mr Williamson is looking forward to the future, with the company's 150th anniversary approaching in 2022.

He said: "It has changed a lot over the years but we are still going strong and doing quite well. Simon and Josh will take over eventually and hopefully they will pass it on to their children and keep the business running."