WHEN television duo Wallace and Gromit first sang the praises of Wensleydale cheese, animator Nick Park can barely have realised the influence of those words.

Now, the clay duo are being hailed as the saviours of the Dales village of Hawes, in North Yorkshire, after sales of the cheese dramatically bucked a disastrous trend across the country.

The past three years have seen an overall decline in the regional cheese market by 30 per cent, but sales of the Wensleydale variety have rocketed.

The Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, is looking at a £9m turnover this year, compared with about £6m three years ago. And it owes a big slice of that success to the stars of A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave.

Creamery director Alice Amsden said: "There has been a decline in national cheeses, but, interestingly enough, over the past three years Wensleydale is one of the cheeses that has grown, and the growth is around about 25 per cent.

"In the last seven years, our market has gone up 500 per cent."

She said the Wallace and Gromit films, as well as media coverage when the creamery closed in 1992, reopening six months later, helped to build a strong public image for the brand.

A special Wallace and Gromit version of Wensleydale has been produced to capitalise on the link.

Ms Amsden said: "We've had the benefit of Wallace and Gromit, and there was all the media spirit at the time of the closure, which put Wensleydale cheese back on the map."

Since reopening with a staff of 11, the creamery, one of a number to produce Wensleydale, has grown to employ 136 people, giving a huge boost to Hawes and the surrounding area.

A new brand of cheese, Wensleydale with Cranberry, also provided a boost, said Ms Amsden.

A survey of 200 top food personalities commissioned by Lancashire firm Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses, showed popularity for regional cheeses among the major players, if not the consumer.

Celebrity chefs including Antony Worrall Thompson and Nigella Lawson, restaurateurs, cheese experts and food writers gave the thumbs up to the regional varieties.

A massive 82 per cent said they regularly bought regional cheeses, while 86 per cent said they could compete with the world's best.

Wensleydale proved the second most popular regional variety in the survey, between first-placed Lancashire and third-placed Stilton.

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