Matt Rashleigh is well known to Dorchester car booters, with boxes and boxes of useful items piled high at bargain prices.
But what the booters don’t know is that Matt has a degree in fine art and has been buying and selling antiques since he was 12.
The boot sale bargains are just a fraction of what he does – but he loves the boot sale banter so much he goes every week, rain or shine.
And away from the boots, Matt has been quietly building his Country Clearance saleroom, on the Grove Trading Estate – an Aladdin’s cave of vintage and antique items, situated opposite the Weldmar outlet store. The business has scores of five-star Google reviews.

Country Clearance only sends 15% to landfill, reusing and recycling and selling everything else.
Wooden items they cannot sell or donate to charity go to Eco in Weymouth to be made into firewood or something else useable. Metal is taken to a scrap dealer for further use.
He said: “My family sold antiques in Lymington and Lyndhurst for 37 years and aged 12 I used to help my grandad.”
When his dad died he moved in with his mum in Dorchester, where he met his wife Vicci, a teacher who also loves antiques and collectibles. They now
have twins and a son. Four years ago Matt opened his Country Clearance store, where the stock is changed daily and now features white goods as well as furniture, trinkets and the weird and wonderful.
The shop is open 10am- 4pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and Matt is starting to include some of the car boot bargain boxes there too.
He said: “I price up four to six clearances a week and I pride myself on offering a fair price for people’s items – other people might just price the clearance but I value items and sometimes I end up paying them.
“Recently I offered £2,000 for a lot of 1970s Sindy items, for example.”
n Country Clearance: Unit 1, Pomeroy Buildings, Dorchester, DT1 1ST 07950 412153 office@countryclearance.co.uk