Residents at a care home in Longridge have honoured their 50-year friendship by restoring and carving a wooden chair.

Keen walker George Holden first met sheep farmer Jim Walker over fifty years ago when he was leading a tour of walkers through his farm in the Trough of Bowland.

Over the years, whenever Jim spotted him walking a new group of people through the valley, he would make sure to lean over a farm gate for a chat. They became friends.

Half a century later, much to their surprise, the two men met again when they moved into rooms near each other in Longridge Hall Care Home.

To honour their friendship, George, 95, a furniture maker from Longridge has been working in secret to restore and carve a wooden chair.

With the help of the care home’s maintenance operator Craig Ward, George has spent hours renovating a weather-beaten garden chair before carving the inscription ‘Jim Walker, Shepherd of Bowland’ into the wood.

He also added a Latin inscription ‘Pastor Amica’, which means ‘gentle shepherd’.

George presented Jim, 87, with the chair during a recent event at the home and asked Craig to read out a moving speech he had prepared.

Craig said: “It has been incredible working in secret with George on this project. Whenever I’ve had some spare time, I’ve collected him from his room and we’ve worked together on the chair.

“He is such a talented craftsman and so creative. While we’ve been working together, he has told me all about some of the amazing things he has made over the years, including wooden toys, rocking horses and grandfather clocks.

“It was George’s idea to design the chair and I sanded down the chair and varnished it while he did all the intricate work and chiselled the wording. He has fond memories of walking along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland so the lettering is inspired by the original Hadrian typeface. Another resident, Ron Hudson, helped by painting all the lettering in black paint.

“It was a big surprise and incredibly moving when George presented Jim with the chair in front of all the residents and George’s daughter, Jean. Everyone was amazed and we all had tears in our eyes. It was just so wonderful to see two good pals honouring a 50-year friendship.

“The chair is now in pride of place in Jim’s room and everyone comments on it when they pop in to chat to him.”

Tracey Hartley, manager of Longridge Hall Care Home, a residential, dementia residential and short-term respite care home in Preston, said: “We have such a strong sense of community in the home and the friendship between Jim and George really epitomises this.”