THE owners of a chip shop voted the country’s best have ignored warnings of gale force storms and celebrated National Chip Week on the beach.

In the fashion of cheeky seaside postcards of yesteryear, Quayside of Whitby head fryer Stuart Fusco and customer Lucy Robertson donned swimsuits and sunhats, on Whitby beach to promote the idea of dipping chips in sauces.

While on the beach the pair experienced 35mph winds and temperatures dropped to 5C, so instead of taking a dip in the water, they dunked chips into the restaurant’s dip of the day.

During Chip Week, the restaurant will serve a different dip and chip combo served every day at Quayside on Pier Road.

Mr Fusco said: “Saucy postcards are as much part of the seaside experience as fish and chips, so we wanted to bring the two famous traditions together again in our own way.”

He said the best chips are Maris Pipers, initially fried for four and a half minutes at 140 degrees Celsius, before being washed again in cold water and dried before being cooked again for two minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

Last month, Quayside was named the UK’s Best Independent Fish & Chip Takeaway, in a competition run by seafood authority Seafish.