AS THE fifth and final Test of the Ashes begins today at The Oval, VIP cricket fans will be dining on beef, lamb and pork supplied by a family-owned firm based near Orton and at Morecambe.

Neil Udale, who runs Udale Speciality Foods with brother Ian, said the company was sending down fresh produce for between 3,000 and 4,000 guests at the South London cricket ground for the five-day England v Australia match.

Neil, whose great-grandfather founded Udale in 1905, said the company had also secured a deal with Tottenham Hotspurs this season. The Premier League football club will be supplied with beef and lamb for diners in its VIP suites.

The van-loads of top-quality meats despatched to The Oval and Spurs' new stadium will be sourced mainly from the North of England, said Neil.

The prestigious sporting deals follow many other successes for Udale in recent years, such as supplying milk-fed Lake District lamb to tennis champion Andy Murray's wedding, which was prepared by chef Michel Roux Jr and his father Albert.

Udale delivered Lancashire duck to the 2018 Brit Awards at London's O2 Arena, as well as sirloin of beef in 2017.

Meanwhile, this year's Great Taste Awards saw Udale add two more stars to its collection of more than 50, for its dry-aged ox cheek and dry-aged best end of lamb.