SANDIE Davison arrived in Kilburn, near Thirsk, for a holiday some 20 years ago - but she has never left. It was apparent, as soon as the interview started, that she came from my neck of the woods - she talked as quickly as I do.

She said: "I fell in love with the place and the people were so friendly, far more so than in my native Leeds, and I met my husband, John. I do believe in fate, that your life is mapped out for you."

Now aged 55, Mrs Davison is one of a rare breed, almost as rare as some of the sheep she rears, a real character.

She lives in the village and has a small "yard" not far away where she houses her sheep. She has about 80 and sells high quality natural fleeces via her web site, yorkshirewoollybacks.co.uk, to places as far away as the US, Canada and Denmark.

Mrs Davison sells the cleaned "raw" wool, or wool she has spun herself, mostly to people who spin or knit.

When I visited, she had just returned from the Great Yorkshire Show, where she won several prizes, and was enjoying her "first proper cuppa for three days."

She gained a first in the owner-bred breeding ewe class with a Ryeland, a sixth place with a seven-year-old aged ram she bought from the Isle of Wight (but more of that later) and a sixth place with a ram lamb.

"I feel very proud as the classes were huge this year, with many top quality entries," she said.

Mrs Davison became housekeeper at the nearby Forresters Arms when she first arrived in Kilburn and started out with a few sheep as a hobby to keep her occupied when her husband, a heavy plant operative in quarries, was working away for weeks at a time.

Before that she kept two horses and competed with some success in the British Horse Society long-distance riding competition, winning the "bronze buckle" and "silver stirrup".

She said: "My back decided it had had enough, so I needed to look for another hobby. I kept the horses and needed something to eat up all the grass as I had too much for just the horses."

She bought five crossed Texels as pet lambs. When they were shearlings, Chris Broughton, a local sheep breeder, gave her an aged Ryeland ram called Nikki for breeding. "I fell in love with him, he was so docile, you could pat his head and he wagged his tail just like a dog.

"I got some lovely lambs and this helped me decide which breed I wanted, so I bought three ewes. Sadly, Nikki died the following year.

"Needing a new ram, I tried to get one he had sired. The lady who owned them now lived in the Isle of Wight, but she had a shearling which was Nikki's nephew.

"The question was how to get the animal to Kilburn. A farming friend from Coxwold, Alan Duffield, who breeds Wensleydales, took his pick-up with a crate in the back and brought him back for me.

"When he arrived in the yard he had a good look around and wagged his tail and I knew I had chosen the right one."

Her new pet won reserve best Ryeland in show at the Great Yorkshire in 1999. "It really is the icing on the cake to get a winning card at the Yorkshire Show," said Mrs Davison.

He was placed at several more shows before foot-and-mouth arrived. Her neighbours' flocks were wiped out as the disease got within two to three miles of Kilburn.

She said: "Because of the halt in movement I lost all my contacts and my business nearly went under. Then a lady approached me for a coloured fleece which I obtained for her. She taught me how to spin and I joined York Spinners, Weavers and Dyers Guild."

While the ban on movement still applied, Mrs Davison couldn't take the fleeces to the guild, so she got into the internet. "I thought there might be a market for fleeces and, although it had started out as a hobby, I thought I might be able to make it into a business. So I sought some advice."

A Yorkshire Business Link representative advised her to "get a better part-time job and a web site."

Mrs Davison duly obtained a new part-time job at the Co-op and launched her web site.

Her site received 200 hits in the first month, which took her by surprise. From this she began to receive orders from America and Canada and this year added Germany and Denmark to her list, as well as more customers in this country.

She also spun and sent two kilos of coloured Ryeland on request from a woman from Luxembourg who was on holiday in the area.

Mrs Davison gives wool-gathering demonstrations at the North York Moors Sutton Bank Visitor Centre every April and October and invites people to have a go at spinning.

"I spin myself when I am agitated and need to calm down, I find it very therapeutic and calming," she said.

"It really is interesting helping people find rare breed fleeces. At shows, if I see a rare breed I usually ask the exhibitors to send me a fleece, which they usually do if I spin it up for them in return."

To increase the variety of her fleeces, she bought some Llanwenog and Shetland sheep and started looking on the internet for a Romney.

"I got a reply from a lady called Lesley Selby who had Romney stock, but she lived in Maryland, America. She gave me the name of a lady in Tiverton, Devon, where I obtained stock. I sent her a Ryeland fleece and she sent me a Romney cross, a French breed." The two women have kept in touch and are still pen pals.

"I can't believe that a hobby has turned into such an interesting business with far-flung contacts," said Mrs Davison.

"I won't make a million out of the business, but it keeps me busy and I have made some good and interesting friends and contacts. I'm grateful for all the help and advice I have been given."

Andy Wilson, North York Moors National Park chief executive, said: "We are keen to encourage traditional farming and crafts, which are based on the special qualities of this area.

"The marketing of local fleeces from traditional breeds is a positive way of supporting this. We like to work closely with local producers like Sandie.

"She and her Yorkshire Woollybacks business featured at our main public event, the Beacon on the Bank, at Sutton Bank Visitor Centre recently.