A CHEESE supplier forced to halt production after a major flood is back in business.

The Swaledale Cheese Company, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, had to stop cheesemaking in December last year when a pipe in the water system burst, destroying hundreds of kilos of cheese and causing substantial structural damage to the building.

Mandy Reed, who set up the family business 21 years ago with her late husband, David, had to throw away all the cheese and start again from scratch.

"All our cheeses are made by hand and each variety needs carefully controlled temperatures, humidity levels and maturation times of around two months," she said.

"This process cannot be rushed, so there is an unavoidable time delay between making the cheese and having it ready to eat."

Since December Mrs Reed has worked around the clock to get ready to release their first cheeses to local shops and farmers' markets.

For details about Swaledale Cheese call 01748-824932 or email sales@swaledalecheese.co.uk