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'I want to save my unique pears from extinction'

Stuart Pollitt and Lauren Hirst
BBC News
Liam Campbell A hand is holding the CR7 pear variety in the orchard. The small green pair, which is speckled with light brown marks, has a small part of the branch still attached. Liam Campbell
Mr Campbell said the CR7 pear was "juicy and sweet with a hint of marzipan"

A family has set its sights on preserving two varieties of pear after discovering they have been the only place in the country growing them.

The pear trees in the Cocker Bar Orchard in South Ribble, Lancashire, are believed to be the last of their kind.

Liam Campbell, 36, and his family have lived on the farm for three decades completely unaware that it was the only home of the CR5 and CR7 varieties.

He said the varieties had been "enjoyed by Lancashire inhabitants" for at least three centuries "so it would be good for that to be continued for the next 400 years".

Liam is crouching down on the grass in the orchard alongside his dog Monty. They are both looking at the camera and Liam is smiling. Behind them is a tree which has blossomed with pale pink flowers.
Liam Campbell hopes to preserve the trees in his family's orchard

Mr Campbell's family moved to the farm in 1996, inheriting an orchard dating from at least 1730 with the property.

After enjoying the fruit for three decades, they discovered two of the trees on the site were unique.

He said the CR5 variety was more of a cooking pear, as it is harder and quite tart, while the CR7 was "juicy and sweet with a hint of marzipan".

Since finding out how rare the trees were, Mr Campbell has taken new shoots from them in a bid to grow more and preserve the varieties.

However, he said the age of the trees meant that was difficult.

"They're coming towards the end of their life span, so it's really hard," he said.

"You have to get really high up and take cuttings [and then] you graft it together and hopefully they take."

However, he said his efforts in the past year had been hampered by his dog Monty.

"They'd survived a couple of months - a lot longer than they did this year - and then Monty decided that it was going to be his chew toy," he said.

"I just came back and I saw all my lovely grafts in splinters on the floor and a very satisfied-looking Monty."

Liam Campbell A hand is holding the CR5 pear which is slightly smaller than the CR7 pear. It has a speckled skin which is light green and yellow.Liam Campbell
Mr Campbell said the CR5 was more of a cooking pear

Despite the challenges, Mr Campbell said he was determined to succeed.

"There is a lot of pressure because I really want people to enjoy these for generations to come," he said.

"You can only graft once a year and we reckon those trees won't be there in 50 years' time, so I've got 50 more attempts."

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