A FORMER England cricketer more used to making mincemeat of his opponents was behind the counter of a County Durham butcher's shop yesterday.

Ian Botham visited McFarlane's Butchers, in Barnard Castle, as part of his campaign to promote British produce.

The test captain, who was known as Beefy, has been starring alongside former England batsman Alan "Lamby" Lamb in a series of animated commercials promoting British meat.

Yesterday, Mr Botham, whose brother-in-law is a farmer, served customers at the family-run shop.

He said: "I'm here to promote people's awareness of British produce - it is all about supporting the local community and being involved in it. If you go to Spain or Australia, they don't sell English beef, they sell Spanish of Australian, and I think in England, we need to be more aware of what there is to offer here. This is the sort of shop we should be supporting.

"Often with supermarkets - with their free parking and things - you forget about stores like this, but it is great to see a whole range of quality British products with the Quality Mark on."

Shop manager Stuart McFarlane said: "Campaigns like this are a great help. There's been a few surprised customers when they have seen Ian behind the counter. He's been a great help."

Mr Botham has no plans to change profession: "These boys don't play cricket, so I'm not going to start butchering - apart from the Aussies."