IT’S almost 35 years since David Jones exhibited any of his pedigree Herefords at the Bath and West Show.

After a long absence, he fancied it this year and entered his already prize-winning Phocle Bonanza, one of the biggest Hereford bulls many people had ever seen.

In this case, big proved beautiful and last week he provided a bonanza of awards for the Jones family and Phocle herd at Upton Bishop, near Rosson- Wye.

Phocle Bonanza, standing tall and long and weighing in at around 1,500kg, won the Hereford senior bull class, was named male champion and then judged supreme Hereford champion at the show.

The Jones family are leading players in the Hereford Cattle Society, winning awards with their top class cattle at shows across the country.

But Phocle Bonanza, which Mr Jones shares with Gareth Williams, of Caplor Farm, Fownhope, is something special.

Mr Jones says the bull is massive, but very gentle and behaves like a gentleman.

Bred at Phocle Farm, he has already been champion at Kington, Monmouth and the Three Counties and has now added three more trophies to his name from the successes at the Bath and West.

The massive but gentle bull is part of a herd with 55 breeding cows at Phocle.