A CHEESEMAKER has secured a five-figure contract to supply its North Yorkshire cheese to greyhound stadiums across England.

The award-winning company will see its Ryedale white cheese served up to thousands of diners in restaurants at stadiums run by the Greyhound Racing Association.

The Wimbledon stadium will be the first to get the cheese for its two restaurants and executive suites, which can cater for up to 1,500 customers in one sitting.

The cheese will also be introduced to cheeseboards in the association's five other stadiums, based in Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth and Birmingham.

John Kerwin, sales director at Thirsk-based Shepherds Purse Cheeses, said: "Greyhound racing is fast becoming one of the country's most popular spectator events and we are delighted to be supplying our local cheese brand to the stadium's modern restaurants which offer stylish dining to race-goers."

The company's Ryedale cheese is made by hand from local milk to a local recipe.

Chief executive Judy Bell expects the contract with the Greyhound Racing Association to develop to include other cheeses in the Shepherds Purse range, such as its Yorkshire Blue and Fine Fettle Yorkshire Cheese.

Last month, Shepherds Purse won four awards at the Nantwich International Cheese Show, in Cheshire.

It won gold for its Mrs Bells Blue and Ryedale Bell Pepper and Balsamic vinegar cheeses, and bronze for its Fine Fettle Yorkshire and Ryedale Italian Herb varieties.