A BOSBURY orchard was named the best in an awards competition organised by brewing giant Heineken.

The biennial awards celebrate the best orchards for their commitment to quality, land management and sustainability.

The ceremony, on May 6, followed a blustery walk and talk around the winning orchard in Bosbury, where Gerald, Rosemary, Ben and Rachel Blandford took home the overall Golden Apple Prize for their orchard planted in 2010.

Judges, John Worle, Brendan Rhodes and Caroline Hanks, praised their 'acute attention to detail'.

After presenting the awards, David Forde, manager director at Heineken, said: "The Golden Apple Awards are a great way to celebrate best practice in orcharding. At Heineken we are proud of the very high standards reached by the apple farmers we work with.

"Events like this mean we can thank our farmers for continuing to drive those standards forward in terms of yields and environmental leadership. Congratulations to the Blandfords on a well-deserved win."

Judges also commended their respect for the local environment, protection of veteran trees and how they had identified and encouraged specific wildlife areas in and around the orchard.

Heineken receives cider apples from around 10,000 acres of orchards in and around Herefordshire.