THE owner of a 28-year-old tin of salmon, which was packaged in Middlewich and kept in memory of her dad, is seeking residents' help in digging out a piece of the town's history.

Joy Knight, 59, says her dad brought the tin of Berisford’s Cucumber brand Red Salmon as part of a hamper when he came to visit her in July 1988, before he sadly died three months later.

Clitheroe-born Joy recently re-discovered the tin in her cupboard, and the Comberbach resident was shocked to see it had been distributed from Middlewich.

She is now hoping to learn more about S&W Berisford and ‘H.S. Foods Ltd’ in King Street, as well as its links to the community.

Joy said: “I never had the heart to open the can and it has stayed safe in my cupboard with a note on: 'DO NOT THROW AWAY'.

"My grandson was born six months ago and I thought, ‘right, I have got to do something with this tin of salmon but I can’t throw it away’.”

Middlewich Library has helped Joy with her research, and she is now deciding whether to base a short community film production on the tin or donate it for research and training purposes.

A Guardian reader who worked for Berisford’s for 28 years says office staff moved to Middlewich after splitting from the Holmes Chapel factory in the early 1980s.

Alan Langley said: “In about 1981 they split the company up. At Holmes Chapel there were about 350 staff, in Middlewich around 100.

“It was canned abroad – red salmon in America and pink salmon in Russia – and they would label it in Holmes Chapel in the packing room.”