STAFF and customers at a country pub have served up a new world record for the largest portion of fish and chips.

Chefs at the Wensleydale Heifer in West Witton, North Yorkshire, broke the record by frying a fillet of prime halibut, in Black Sheep beer batter, and hand cut chips weighing a combined total of 101 pounds.

They also cooked a vat of mushy peas to accompany the record-breaking dish.

The title was brought back to Britain on American Independence Day weekend, beating the previous record of 78lb held by the Black Rose Restaurant, in Boston, Massachusetts.

The fish and chips were prepared in a custom-made giant pan and the fillet was coated in more than four gallons of batter, accompanied by an amount of chips proportional to the size of fish.

The fish was weighed prior to cooking and then battered and fried as a single fish before being divided into servings.

The record was officially verified by Guinness World Records before the dish was served to customers, who made a donation to Help for Heroes.

David Moss, owner of the Wensleydale Heifer, said: "The Heifer has always been renowned for quality fish and chips, so it seemed fitting to try to bring back the world record to England and Yorkshire.

"Everything ran more or less to plan and we were delighted to break the record. I'd like to thank all the staff at The Heifer for their sterling efforts and for all the people who supported us.

"The fish and chips tasted great, but I think for now we will stick to serving more normal size fillets."