Ben has metal in his blood

HE TOOK OVER THE FAMILY SCRAP BUSINESS WHEN HE WAS JUST 15 YEARS OLD

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

A BUSINESS that has been trading for more than a century and helped build fighter planes in the Second World War has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

Ben Woolley Scrap Merchant, based in Huthwaite, was established in 1911 by Joe Woolley.

Although now specialising in scrap metal recycling, the business used to collect a wide array of items in its early days, with Joe Woolley's motto being "I buy anything".

This, of course, included metals, but also rabbit skins and jam jars and, on one occasion, even a wheelbarrow full of snow.

The business was then passed on from Joe Woolley to his son, Ben Woolley Sr, who obtained a licence from the Ministry of Supply, which was formed in 1939 to coordinate the supply of equipment to all three British Armed Forces.