BUSINESS at one of Hereford's top employers is to mushroom if a proposal to develop new agricultural opportunities is approved.

Drinks manufacturer Bulmers is to study a plan to grow speciality fungi using by-products from thousands of acres of cider apple orchards.

The shittake and oyster mushrooms, prized in Japan and China for their taste and health benefits, would grow on 1,500 tonnes of wood chippings produced by pruning each year.

As well as being a valuable source of protein the mushrooms are said to help fight viruses, lower cholesterol and regulate blood pressure. If the plan is successful they will be marketed in the UK.

Work on agricultural research is being carried out by a professor from Belgrade University while Bulmers considers possible business partners for the scheme.

The plan is part of Bulmers' sustainable approach to business and would result in the wood chippings, seen as a waste product and burnt, being used profitably and without damage to the environment.

Richard Heathcote, sustainable development manager for Bulmers said: "Using waste prunings to grow mushrooms is a classic example of how sustainability can work to our advantage."