A FAMILY-owned sausage and burger business based in Bedale has been crowned as the winner of the Telegraph Festival of Business award.

Heck, which was started by the Keeble family in 2015 and makes over two million sausages each week, beat off stiff competition from three other nominees to take the prestigious prize.

Now in its fourth year, the Telegraph award, in association with Amazon, celebrates the brightest and best British businesses that are able to demonstrate innovation and growth.

At a ceremony in central London judges praised the company’s tenacity and said they were impressed by its fast-paced growth.

The company recently announced plans to relocate to a much larger, single site in Sinderby near Thirsk and double its workforce. The brand has also been benefitting from increasing awareness among consumers about the origin of food products.

When the World Health Organisation recently warned about the dangers of eating too much red and processed meat, Heck sold 70 tonnes of sausages in seven days as customers traded cheaper products for premium varieties.

Originally predicting £7m in annual sales in 2015, the company is now on target to turnover £11m and the company is planning to open up its new factory to visitors so that everyone can see the ingredients they use and the inner workings of its production line and food making processes.

More than 90 per cent of the workforce is aged under 25. The company was set up in 2012 by Andrew and Debbie Keeble and the day-to-day running of the company is now managed by their four children, Ellie, Roddy, Jamie and Guy plus several of their close friends.