CHEESEMAKERS from North Yorkshire are helping to provide a bumper feast for some of the nation's old soldiers over the festive period.

The Dairy Council's Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses for London's Chelsea Pensioners featured cheeses from three producers in the county.

Shepherd's Purse Cheeses, from Thirsk, sent its best-seller Yorkshire Blue; Settle-based Ribblesdale Cheesemakers provided a traditional Old Time Wensleydale, as well as a smoked version; and Wensleydale Dairy Products, from Hawes, donated a Wensleydale and a Wensleydale with cranberries.

Altogether, 74 cheeses were donated by producers from all over Britain - the most that has been provided to the Chelsea Pensioners in the 48 years that the council has been hosting the ceremony at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London. The festive ceremony continues a tradition dating back to 1692 when the hospital asked a local cheesemonger to provide the pensioners with cheese as a Christmas treat.

One of the oldest pensioners, Herbert Bailey, 94, who served in the Royal Artillery, had the honour of cutting the biggest cheese with the ceremonial sword.

He said: "It was a pleasure to be involved in the ceremony this year and we are all very grateful to these marvellous cheese producers for providing us with such an impressive range of British cheeses. I'm looking forward to tasting them all."

The chairman of the Dairy Council, Christian Fox, said: "It is a real privilege for the dairy industry to donate these cheeses to the war veterans of the Royal Hospital."