Veteran dedicated to fishiest business at 83

Ray Cutsforth was hooked and over 70 years on is still delivering fish to merchants from Hull’s Fishgate auction house, with no plans to retire.

Ray, 83, who works with son Neil, 50, had his last holiday 15 years ago. Every day starts at about 5am – no alarm clock is required – but for the pensioner who lives on his own since wife Valerie went into a home, that’s life.

The carting business was set up more than a century ago by grandfather George Henry Cutsforth, whose work ethic has clearly passed down the generations.

Ray, who celebrated his 83rd birthday last Friday, said: “When the War was on I used to be driving the horse and cart and there was a red lamp on the back and a white one on the front and my grandfather used to say: ‘Blow the candles out and keep working.’”

“As soon as I sit down I seize up. If I retired you’re talking £500 a week to put someone on and they wouldn’t work like myself. I’d stop down here 24 hours a day if there was work.”

Times have changed dramatically from the days when hundreds worked on St Andrew’s Dock and Hull trawlers lined up to land their catch. Fish used to come in wooden barrels, they now arrive in containers, air-freighted in from Iceland, Norway and Denmark.

But despite a lifetime working with fish, Ray, will only eat it once a week – and then it has to be fish and chips.

Son Neil – who has been with the business since leaving school 33 years ago – said: “He tries to do everything at 100mph and he’s still trying to beat time.”

Auctioneer John Morrow, who is also third generation in the business, said: “If you are not born into it you are going to struggle to get through it. At the end of the day he’s tried and tested. I think basically Ray’s just loved the job from day one.”