Northamptonshire butchers says public's penchant for a good lockdown meal has helped them 'weather the storm'

The team at Sauls of Spratton family butchers say they are "very lucky" to have done as well as they have during the lockdown.

Northamptonshire's Sauls of Spratton butchers was scared it was all over when the lockdown hit.

They never expected their phones to be ringing off the hook by the next day.

"One half of our work is catering for big events," explains co-owner Emma Price. "We would have been at the Chelsea Flower show this week. A lot of our business was gone overnight.

"So when the lockdown began we were quite scared. We all thought 'well, that's it then'.

"Of course, then the next week was mental."

What Emma, her husband Mark and their team never expected was they would receive more orders than ever. All of a sudden, the butchers' telephone and online orders took off in a big way.

Emma said: "I suppose people are treating themselves more at home. The money you spend on a night out or a meal can feed you for a week.

"It helps that supermarkets just are not an enjoyable experience at the moment.

"And in this weather, everyone wants to barbecue. People can't go out for a nice meal anymore so they have them at home."

After eight weeks, trade has settled down and the team are still able to serve customers at Smiths Farm Shop in Chapel Brampton while handling deliveries from their home in Spratton.

Now, the team hope their luck in the lockdown will carry on as shops across the country get ready to reopen in mid-June.

Emma said: "We are hoping that the people who have turned to us in the last few weeks will stay with us and will continue to think about where they get their food.

"We feel like we've been very lucky. We've been able to weather the storm and that's all we could ask for."

For more information on Sauls of Spratton, visit their Facebook page or their website.