Carr’s has announced that it will have a new non-executive director from the start of next month.

The agriculture, food and engineering group has appointed Ian Wood to its board, with his tenure set to begin on Thursday, October 1.

This follows the news that Robert Heygate will retire next April following 25 years of service on the board.

Mr Wood will be joining the Carlisle-based company from Centrica plc where he is currently the commercial director of internal business management.

Centrica was previously British Gas and Ian has held numerous positions in the company, within areas such as engineering, customer services, industrial & commercial marketing and energy trading.

His other previous Board Member experience includes Accord Energy Ltd, Barrow Offshore Windfarm, Centrica Energia and Oxxio BV.

Chris Holmes, chairman at Carr’s, said: "I am delighted to welcome Ian to the Board of Carr's. The lifelong experience Ian has gained throughout his career in leading commercial and operational roles, particularly within the engineering and energy sectors will provide valuable perspective and new insight to our board of directors.

"On behalf of the company and the rest of the board, I would like to thank Bob for his tremendous contribution over the years, which has been invaluable in helping the growth and success of Carr's.

“On a personal note, Bob and I have worked together for a long time and I have very much valued and respected his judgement and advice over the years."