Crowd invited to try Six Nations sausages at butchers' sporting charity barbecue

Innovative butchers Nick and Jon Francis have tuned their taste talents to come up with a series of sausages for every team in the tournament.

The two - who rear their own pork and run their own shop - Paddock Farm Butchery in Brailes - are holding a Six Nations Celebration event on Saturday from 9.30 - noon to give customers a chance to ‘try’ their sizzling sausages.

“Scotland’s pork and haggis sausage is my front runner,” says Nick Francis,.

“The Italian style fennel and chilli should also be popular, as should our top of the table English sausage - the traditional Tamworth. Wales’s sausage will be pork and leek, France’s will be Toulouse (wine and garlic) and Ireland will have a pork and Guinness variety. We’ll be hosting a free barbecue and cooking tasters of all the sausage varieties so people can judge their favourites,” says Nick. “It’s a bit of fun but it’s a great chance to mark our anniversary and thank customers for their support in our first year.

The brothers set up Paddock Farm in 2008 with a small herd of Tamworth pigsand opened the shop last March. They now supply more than 40 Michelin starred restaurants as well as local shoppers with their own-reared pork, plus locally raised beef and lamb.

“We’re really fortunate to be placed in an excellent part of the country with great farms on our doorstep plus a wonderful customer base who continue to support us and the rural economy by using our shop,” said Nick Francis.

“Our anniversary sausage sizzle off is about bringing all these people together to thank them for their support.” The barbecue will run from 9.30am - noon with all proceeds going to Shipston Home Nursing. The butcher’s shop will be open as usual from 7.45am.