CHEESEMAKERS from across North Yorkshire will be battling it out with others from all over England later this month.

They will be taking on all-comers in an effort to find the best in the land at the annual Cheese Awards.

Shepherd's Purse, from Thirsk; Swaledale Cheese, from Richmond; Wensleydale Dairy Products, from Hawes; Ribblesdale Cheesemakers, of Settle; and St Helen's Farm, from York, are among the contenders.

The Cheese Awards will kick-start the Waitrose British Cheese Festival, on Septem-ber 28 and 29, when thousands of enthusiasts will descend on Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. That will be followed by British Cheese Week.