ROB Evans, business manager for Wensleydale Dairy Products Ltd at Hawes, has been appointed a director of the British Cheese Board.

The board, formed in 1997, now represents the majority of British cheese makers and promotes the industry internationally.

"This is a great time to be involved in the cheese making industry," said Mr Evans. "I think we now rival the continent in quality, taste and variety. There are more than 400 varieties of British cheese, to suit every taste and occasion. The rich diversity of cheese made in the UK is a result of unique cheese-making processes, variations in types of milk and the maturing times."

Mr Evans joined Wensleydale Creamery nearly six years ago and is responsible in part for the hugely popular Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberries which accounts for more than a third of the creamery's sales.