INCREASED demand for farm cheeses produced by Shepherds Purse, of Newsham, near Thirsk, means growth has increased by 28 per cent.

The firm has introduced a seven-day working week to keep up to speed with the production of cheese, and anticipates further growth of 37 per cent by March next year.

The three leading cheeses - Mrs Bell's Blue, a traditional blue made from ewes' milk, Yorkshire Blue, and Yorkshire Feta, are stocked by supermarkets as well as delicatessens and specialist cheese shops. They also appear on the menus of Eurostar, British Airways, and many leading restaurants. This year they have won awards at Nantwich Cheese Show and the Royal Highland Show.

Farmer's wife Judy Bell, who heads the company, said: "We have been working to full capacity to keep up with demand, but are now going into a seven-day week in anticipation of Christmas sales. My husband Nigel has been getting up at 3am to start off production before going out onto the farm."

The family team includes son Justin, production manager, and daughter Katie, sales and marketing manager. Three other fulltime employees and several part-timers are also pulling out all the stops to make sure demand is met.

Recently the cold storage facilities were expanded and the dairy re-equipped to the highest standards.

Now plans are advanced for further expansion of production facilities, but the cheeses are still handmade to the recipes developed by Judy on her kitchen table.