Staff at a North Yorkshire accountancy firm have every reason to be celebrating after an exercise saw them adding up more than clients’ balance sheets.

The eight employees of Cook Trotter Limited – which was started in 1966 by the late Peter Cook – calculated that yesterday their combined years’ service was exactly 100 years to the very day.

The longest serving member of staff is managing director Jill Trotter, who by yesterday had 27 years, ten months and six days to her tally.