THE Coronation Fanfare Trumpets played by the King’s Division Army Band at the Grand National were handcrafted by a North Yorkshire company.

Instrument manufacturer Smith-Watkins, which for 25 years has been based in a converted cow shed in Sheriff Hutton, shaped the instruments specially for the band who played them for the first time at the famous event.

Spectators heard them give a rendition of Copeland’s Fanfare For The Common Man before the race and afterwards at the winner’s enclosure balcony the army trumpeters played the Winner’s Fanfare.

Richard Smith, of Smith-Watkins, said: “It’s always a proud moment when we see and hear our instruments played in public, and occasions don’t come much bigger than the Grand National.”