Shoppers enjoy turkey treat (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Shoppers enjoy turkey treat

THE new owners of a Shipston butchers' shop are gearing up for their first Christmas - and they are expecting it to be a bumper one.

Julia Gardner and her brother-in-law Brian took over the running of Righton's in Sheep Street in September and since then business has been booming.

The pair organised a turkey tasting at the shop last Saturday and are expecting to be snowed under with orders for their free-range and barn-reared turkeys.

"We are going to stay open as late as we can on Christmas Eve to ensure all orders are filled," said Julia.

"We will be working all hours behind the scene," she added.

Julia believes the shop's success is due to increasing customer demand for locally-produced, good quality meat.

"I think there is an increasing awareness of where food comes from and also the wish to support local producers," said Julia, whose beef and lamb is supplied from the farms at Pillerton Priors and Tysoe run by her husband Nick and his father.

"We've tried to focus on having our own beef and lamb in the shop, all the pork products are free range and the majority of the poultry is free range," she added.