SHEEP bred on the picturesque hillsides of the North Yorkshire Moors may end up on dinner tables across Greece.

One of the leading Greek meat buying agents, Basil Garoufalidis, visited the area to see the sheep in their natural environment and meet farmers.

He went to Breck House Farn, Bransdale, where Chris Dunn and his son Tim farm 240 acres and have 1,100 Swaledale breeding ewes.

Tim said: "It is a matter of looking for extra markets. The Greeks eat far more lamb than the British and they particularly like our naturally reared lambs"

Farmers have had one of the best lambing seasons for several years, because of the mild winter and spring.

Tim is well known in the sheep world as a pregnancy scanner operator, contracting to farmers over a wide area.

George Allison, chairman of the North York Moors Quality Sheep Association, said the organisation was now recovering after losing some members as a result of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

"The Greek market is an opportunity to explore a different market," he said.