No wonder John Nicholl (pictured right) is beaming! A clutch of gold medals and a supreme championship under his belt have given the Windermere butcher good cause to smile.

John, the creative force behind Huddlestons butchers, on Crescent Road, won an array of glittering prizes at the annual North West Awards for Excellence in Meat Products competition held at the Reebok stadium in Bolton with his pork sausage, Cumberland sausage (which was also runner-up in this year's Great Cumbrian Sausage Competition held at the Westmorland County Show), dry cure gammon steak and dry cure back bacon.

However, it was his pork pies which stole the show. They not only got gold but also scooped the supreme championship in their category.

There were gold medals too for other local butchers. Mark Duckworth of Dales traditional butchers at Kirkby Lonsdale was honoured for three of his sausage varieties pork; beef; and the already multi award- winning pork, duck, Cointreau & orange' sausage.

There were top medals too for Mark's dry cure gammon steaks and dry cure bacon, as there were for Sedbergh butcher, Garth Steadman, who took a further seven golds with pork, & garlic mushroom sausage; Guy Fawkes Bombs' (meatballs in a spicy sauce); lemon pepper pork; pickled spiced beef; cottage pie; sweet & sour pork; and traditional lamb hotpot, made by Garth's wife Jean, which was also voted the ready meal supreme champion'.

Garth also won silver medals for his healthy sausage' and Westmorland sausage'.