ONE county decorator was keeping it in the family when he was called to take on his latest project.

For Tim Jones discovered a signature he recognised all too well on the wall he was due to start work on – it belonged to his father and was inscribed 60 years ago.

Mr Jones, of Kings Thorn, was shocked to see the words 'G Jones November 1955' which indicated his father Geoff, who was also a decorator, had worked at the same property near Brecon 60 years earlier.

Mr Jones, 54, said: "I had been asked to provide a quote for some wallpapering in a property in Boughrood which was being gutted and renovated by a couple who own a business in London.

"The rooms which I have to work on were being stripped of existing old paper and being prepped ready for me to go in and work on them.

"On my last visit I went to check on the preparation work when I found inscribed on the wall the signature of my father and two colleagues who were working with him at the time.

"I went and saw dad the next day and he remembered the house straight away."

Mr Jones' dad, Geoff, worked as a decorator for 50 years and his grandfather was also in the trade for half a century.

Mr Jones said his dad was 'quite excited' to hear of the discovery.

"He's 92 now and he worked until he was about 74 and then had to give up because of his eyesight. He would still be going now if he could," he said.

"What I thought was quite ironic was that if it was round Hereford it's not quite so unusual but this place is about 26 or 28 miles away. It's a 45-minute drive in the middle of nowhere," said Mr Jones.

"I thought it was quite spooky. But I thought that's really nice keeping it in the family."

Unfortunately, it looks as though the family trade might stop, at least for a while, as Mr Jones' two girls are yet to show an interest in becoming decorators.