GOURMET hand-made saus-ages produced on an East Riding farm will soon sizzle their way through cyberspace, thanks to a pioneering web site.

Grant Burton's tasty bangers, produced from free range pigs at the 280-acre Manor House Farm he runs with brother Mark at Wilberfoss, have already impressed many a discerning palate. Now their reputation is about to reach a wider audience.

Mr Burton has become one of the first farmers in the UK to sign up to an NFU initiative to put local and regional food buyers and suppliers directly in touch in a virtual marketplace.

NFU SourceDirect, launched last week, allows retailers and caterers to obtain produce from local and regional farmers and growers on a wholesale basis via a new, map-based web site.

Retailers and caterers will be able to to meet the growing demand by consumers for food produced locally, while helping farmers and growers to supply directly to meet that demand.

"There is a lot of potential for this to really take off," said Mr Burton, 52, whose family has farmed at Wilberfoss for more than a century. "It means quality food from the farm can be delivered directly to the store or restaurant."

He said the outdoor pigs at Manor House Farm had plenty of space and the freedom to roam, root and wallow. "We feed them a balanced diet of high quality feed, especially designed for outdoor pig production. The result of this attention to detail is the top quality meat we use in our sausages," he said.

Of the 16 flavours of sausage sold at Manor House Farm, the top sellers are the original, sun-dried tomato and basil, and leek. Pork chops, joints, pork and apple burgers, dry cured bacon and gammon and Chinese spare ribs are also produced.

For a fee, farmers and growers can register their produce on the SourceDirect web site, www.nfuonline.com, which goes live in July. It has been developed in association with internet retailer BigBarn.

The service is exclusive to NFU farmer and grower members and is be suitable for those who produce food, plants or flowers in wholesale quantities.

The first 300 to sign up will get a free web page on the site.

Those interested in registering their produce should contact the NFU SourceDirect desk on 020 7331 7338.