A BROMSGROVE butchers is getting into the festive spirit after travelling 1,250 miles to bring back a piece of mouth-watering prize-winning beef for Christmas.

Jon Banner and Glyn Richards, of Banner Foods in Aston Fields, went to the Orkney Islands, off Scotland, to buy top quality beef for their customers.

The butchers originally started buying Orkney Gold beef six years ago during the BSE crisis, as their beef was guaranteed to be BSE-free.

Bromsgrove residents loved the taste so much that the company kept buying from them.

Jon and Glyn had gone up to Orkney to examine the processes but got sucked in to bidding at the auction.

"When we got up there we just had to start bidding. It was great to win the bid," said Glyn.

The pair bought the prize-winning Aberdeen Angus beef and now it will be for sale at the Finstall Road butchers, just in time for Christmas.

It cost £1,000, which David Banner reckons is twice what it would have normally cost but the butchers were keen to buy it as a good will gesture for their customers.

Glyn said: "It was a tremendous experience travelling all that distance to buy beef and we are looking forward to offering our customers the best of the best for their Christmas dinners."

Jon added: "We were overwhelmed at the hospitality and welcome we received in Orkney and I am very pleased that we managed to come away with some excellent meat to sell to our loyal customers."

David Banner describes the taste of the Orkney beef as like 'your mum would make in the 1950s, a really traditional taste'.