Peter Simpson's dairy farm in Wensleydale has seen its margins shaved down the years by the Common Agricultural Policy, BSE and Foot and Mouth. So to make ends meet, he and his two sons have been diversifying...

Tools of the trade: tractor and hearse

Peter and his two sons Gary and Mark have 90 cows to milk twice a day. But farming is no longer a profitable business and they now have to find other things to do between the morning and evening milking routines.

So to stay working together as a family, each of them has developed a side-line. One of the sons, Mark, is a part-time fireman. But Peter has got himself a hearse and hires himself out to local funeral directors. He works for the rural areas four undertakers.

Peter says he's had to suffer a fair bit of leg-pulling. But the work has its compensations. He says it's "a job he's always fancied doing".