One of his claims to fame is as one of the fastest auctioneers in the world - and he has a certificate from Guinness World Records to prove it.

Another is that the business he has run every Saturday market in Swaffham for the last 50 years has been a magnet for customers from all over the country.

But now Tyrone Roberts is to bring his gavel down for the last time when he retires in September and heads for his new home in the sun in Crete.

But friends and colleagues on the market stalls are predicting grim times after his departure, for they believe that the reputation he has built up over half a century has helped their own businesses.

They say that his popularity - with regular customers from as far afield as counties like Essex and Derbyshire - has offset a steady decline in the market over the last few years.

Tennyson Bell, spokesman for the stallholders, who has sold footwear on the market for 26 years, said: “The auction is the main tourist attraction of the town.

Posted: 05|31|06 at 10:51 am. Filed under: UK News.