Turner, the town's well-known antiques shop, has joined forces with auctioneeers John Swan Ltd.

Ron Turner, antique dealer of more than 40 years' standing in the town, continues as a consultant in the new Swan and Turner business.

The leased shop also becomes an office for Swan and Turner, which will deal in antiques, fine arts, collectables, furniture and house clearings.

Supervising the fine arts section of John Swan, director and auctioneer Frank Forrest said: "This is expanding the business and taking it to the next level.

"There has been more call for these services recently. Our main target market will be antiques and collectables but that will be interspersed with household sales when required."

Swans had been looking to expand its fine arts section for more than two years.

Managing director Jack Clark said: "What has been holding us back has been getting the right premises with storage."

He added: "We are fortunate in having the services of Ron Turner as a consultant. He is very highly respected in the area and will be of incalculable benefit.

"With his unrivalled knowledge and expertise and our expertise in selling, we are going to make this an efficient, flexible, comprehensive service to the Borders and Northumberland."

The move came about after a chance conversation last year when Mr Turner suggested to Mr Forrest that John Swan should be getting into fine arts more, as Swans was trying to expand in that area.

Mr Turner explained: "I am going to keep my interest in antiques and have valuations.

"I will be operating from home as well as acting as a consultant for Swan and Turner and doing valuations for them along with Frank."

Mr Turner started his business in the Toll House in 1966 before moving eventually to the current High Street premises.

"Business used to be very buoyant," he recalled. "I used to send ship containers to America and Australia and I had a shop in Dallas.

"But after we were hit with beef diseases and after the Twin Towers, Americans stopped coming over."

Cementing the downturn in overseas trade was the exchange rate. Mr Turner said: "A lot of people are buying off the internet which is very difficult. You don't know what you are buying. It looks alright but a lot of the time, people are disappointed.

"I don't understand how anybody can buy a work of art without getting their hands on it and enjoying it."

But with the demise of auction houses in Berwick and locally, he and Swans obviously feel there is a future in the Borders market.