A CHEESEMAKING firm which has won a string of awards for experimenting with the most exotic flavours has unveiled its latest secret weapon - a herd of buffalo.

Bosses at Shepherd's Purse, in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, are quietly confident that their newest product, made from buffalo milk, will land them an honour at the forthcoming British Cheese Awards, in London.

The creamy Buffalo Blue cheese was created after Northallerton farmer Paul Langthorne offered the firm some spare buffalo milk from his 130-strong herd.

Company director Justin Bell said: "We spent six or eight months experimenting to get where we wanted to be, and the batches we have been making are just starting to mature.

"It has only been put out to a few shops so far. It is almost being test marketed, but it is unlikely to be a supermarket cheese because it is such a difficult raw material to come by."

The firm has been in business since 1989 and its previous cheeses have been the talk of the industry, including Cafe Creme, flavoured with coffee, and the rhubarb-flavoured Ruby Nouveau.

Mr Bell said he was hopeful that Buffalo Blue would cause something of a stir at next month's national awards.

"You never really want to say it, but we are fairly confident," he said.