WINTER may be just around the corner but a North Yorkshire couple are already looking ahead to next summer.

David and Diane Coates, of Bell Farm, Lofthouse, near Masham, are preparing to make home-made ice cream to sell wholesale, thanks to a rural enterprise scheme grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The ice cream will be sold to local hotels, guesthouses and restaurants, as well as through the farm shop as Mr and Mrs Coates hope to follow in the footsteps of Brymor ice cream, from Jervaulx, Wensleydale, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors a year.

Mr Coates said they had decided to diversify because of competition with supermarket prices for pasteurised milk.

He said: "The grant really has helped us. Rather than changing the nature of our business, it is helping us expand and, hopefully, will help other local businesses too."

Sarah Broadwith, of Defra's rural development service, said: "This venture will enable the Coates to add value to their milk, helping the farm business to generate a greater margin and become more economically sustainable."