Christmas came early for staff at Glyn Thomas & Son, the butchers in the High Street, when they discovered they had reached the finals of the Sussex Food and Drink Awards.

Owner John Cottenham, Nicola Whatford (manager) and Josh Whittington were delighted to find that the popular shop has reached the final three in the Butcher of the Year category of the annual competition.

The finalists in Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2017 were revealed following an intensive eight-month judging process, and a record of 13,000 public votes.

John, who took over the business in May, is now looking forward to attending the Sussex Food and Drink Awards Banquet on 1st February at the Amex Stadium, hosted by awards patron Sally Gunnell OBE and BBC’s Danny Pike, where the winners will be revealed and receive their trophies.

“Winning would be fantastic but I’m very happy to have made it this far as one of the top three butchers in the county,” said John. “The judging process has been quite intense, and I’d like to thank all our customers whose votes have supported us and undoubtedly helped us to reach the final three.”

Now in its eleventh year, the awards are all about supporting and boosting local farmers, food and drink producers and the outlets that use and sell local produce. Starting from small beginnings, the awards have grown to become prestigious and respected, with huge support from business in the county, bringing together the whole local food and farming community.

Chairman of the judges, William Goodwin, said: “Over the last decade, Sussex has really earned its place as one of the leading counties in the UK for producing superb food and drink, and this year’s Grand Finalists line up offers an impressive range of first class, diverse businesses from across the county.

“The competition was really tough this year, and the 30 grand finalists should feel immensely proud at making it through to this final stage in the competition.”