SOFT fruit growers in the south of the county came top of the crops in this year's Grower Awards.

A.J and C.I Snell won the Soft Fruit Grower Of The Year award and then scooped the overall Edible Grower Of The Year, which is awarded to the top UK grower selected from all the edible crop winners.

Anthony and Christine Snell's business is a first generation business based in Harewood End, which creates berries for fresh and frozen supermarket retail customers.

Despite a late 2015 spring and major wind damage to a poly tunnel last March they have increased sales by 12 percent- producing 1,726,000 kg of berries.

They have also won a number of other awards including 100 percent quality service to three major retailers, Berry Gardens strawberry estimator of the year and first prize at the National Fruit Show for their premium strawberry Jubilee.