A STANDING ovation greeted cheese-maker Mandy Reed when she won a trophy named in honour of her late husband.

Mrs Reed was asked to travel to Abingdon, Oxfordshire, to present the David Reed Trophy for the best point-of-origin cheese.

Her business, the Swaledale Cheese Company had already scooped two awards, so Mrs Reed did not expect it to win the trophy.

But the Richmond-based operation took the prize and Mrs Reed said she was stunned when the result was announced. "It was amazing," she said. "Me being me, I burst into tears, and then the audience gave me a standing ovation.

"It was a very emotional evening, and it meant so much to us. We've won other awards, and bits and pieces, but this is different."

Mrs Reed started the business in 1987 when her husband, David, was made redundant.

The pair learnt the traditional recipe from a Swaledale farmer's wife. After starting the business as a kitchen enterprise, using buckets to make the cheese, the business rapidly expanded.

Earlier this year, the Swaledale Cheese Company announced plans which would see the business double in size.