VISITORS to Redcar beach saw some unexpected sunbathers when several farmers arrived with some of their cattle to highlight the tumbling cost of milk.

Several businesses have joined forces to raise public awareness that diary farmers are facing a bleak future as the profit margin in producing milk for our fridges is squeezed ever tighter.

Andrea Chapman, who farms near Stokesley, took along several animals so that members of the public could get up close and personal with them and learn more about dairy farming.

"We just wanted to speak to people and see if they realised the real cost of producing milk," she said. "We need to charge 35p a litre to cover our costs but some people are being forced to sell their's for 20p a litre - if that goes on there will be no future for dairy farmers.

"Most people we spoke to today said they would be happy to a little bit more for their milk if it meant people didn't go out of business."

With Dimples the calf leading the way, the farmers' wives and their children spent the day on the beach trying to get people to think about dairy farming.

The campaigner added: "People bring their horses and dogs to the beach so we thought why can't we bring our cattle down and let people see for themselves what we are up against."

To follow the campaign visit www.facebook.com/dimplesthecalf?fref=ts