A NORTH Yorkshire meat products company has received a major boost to trade through funding worth thousands of pounds.

Manor Born, run at Thirsk by farming husband and wife team Andrew and Debbie Keeble, has been awarded £23,000 from a farm diversification grant to buy a high-tech sausage-making machine.

The Keebles established the business more than two years ago and operate out of premises in Thirsk to produce high quality pork products from their own reared pigs.

Their customer base has grown to include shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels and caterers, as well as selling through the Internet and mail orders, while they have just been successful in securing a contract with Tesco.

The grant they received is partly-funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, and is managed by North Yorkshire County Council's farm diversification initiative.

Mr Keeble said: "This funding has been a huge benefit to the growth of business. I doubt we could have gone ahead without it.

"The help we have received from North Yorkshire County Council has been tremendous and we are now looking to employ more people as a result of the increase in production."