Eddie Staines’ clever no-straps-required bale trailer was first shown at Lamma but this was the first chance to see it at work.

It is a simple yet clever system involving two hydraulically operated longitudinal metal gates, one on each side, that drop down to let the handler driver shove bales straight on to the deck.

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Press a button and the gates move up again to hold the bales in place.

No straps or ropes are needed, says Jason Locke from the Devon company, and a full load of bales takes 20 minutes to load and 10 minutes to unload.

All sizes of bale are catered for and there are seven models that go from 7m (24ft) to 11m (36ft).

Prices start at £16,142 for the 24ft model and rise to £22,558 for the 36ft one. You can opt for air suspension, air/hydraulic brakes and a hydraulic load-sensing valve.