A FAMILY who farm in Little Marcle was crowned the overall winners in Heineken's Golden Apple Awards.

The Golden Apple Awards is run every two years to celebrate the contribution Heineken's orchard growers make in providing the British cider apples it needs every year.

The Skittery’s farm, run by brothers James and Michael, was crowned the winner as judges were impressed by their attention to detail in every aspect of orcharding.

The team prune every tree every year, leading to healthy trees and consistent high quality fruit.

The Skittery family also take great care in making sure they protect and enhance the local environment.

This is the second time the family have won. The farm in Little Marcle was originally planted in 1975 and James and Michael now have 75 acres of orchards, or 18,000 trees, growing 20-25 tonnes of fruit per acre.

James Skittery said: "We were delighted to have won this prestigious award and are really happy that we managed to keep it a secret for so long. The event itself was a great success and we are all pleased and proud to have this recognition from the judges."