THERE will be no more handbags at dawn for husband and wife market traders Ian and Jill Franklin.

They have retired from the bags and accessories stall they have run at Keighley market for more than four decades.

No longer will they have to travel across from their Leeds home every day to open up the busy stall.

The couple, both 66 this year, first went into the bags market in 1970 when they opened a shop in Bradford.

Within a couple of years they expanded to Keighley, starting on the stall with handbags but soon expanding into luggage, wallets, umbrellas and other accessories.

Mr Franklin said: “Over the years there have been one or two other stalls who have done bags, but we’ve seen off the opposition.

“We’ve had 45 years in the trade and felt we’d done our whack. We sold the Bradford shop four years ago with a view to slowing down.

“We’re looking forward to putting our feet up and taking a few more holidays.”

Mr Franklin paid tribute to the scores of long-time customers who had wished them well in recent weeks.

The Franklins’ market business has been bought by Paul Simmonite, who for 17 years has run the nearby Dobsons Cooked Meats stall. His partner Sonja Colhoun will run the bags stall.