FOR anyone who has ever grown their own veg the odd potato mis-shape, especially a rude one, is all part of the fun.

But among a generation used to seeing perfectly formed, blemish-free tatties in our shops it seems no one loves an ugly spud anymore.

"Our wholesalers tell us what goes in these bags, everything has to be perfect whereas before people were happy to have a few that were cracked or with a bit of green on because you just cut that off," says Philip Wilson of E.I Wilson & Son, Cumbria's only sizeable spud grower.

Harvesting of their 50 acres of potatoes at Flookburgh was finished two weeks ago and now the Wilson family are busily bagging and grading their crop.

But more are ending up on the scrap heap these days and in the bellies of their 200 beef animals.

Mis-shapes and spuds with cracks, any spot of green or a rough skin do not make their way to the shops even though the flesh' beneath is just as good as that of any other potato.

Even processors reject knobbly tatties because they cannot get all the skin off in peeling machines (the equivalent of large spin dryers lined with sandpaper).

This is a shame because there are some truly spectacular spuds in the Wilson's scrap pile.

"We do get some likeerm," says Mr Wilson with a blush, cupping his hands to allude to male parts. "There are some funny mis-shapes, we always have a chuckle.

"There were four or five people in the village who would come and pick out ones we'd thrown out but now no-one wants to come anymore."

Sales from their farm shop of 25 kilo (56lb) sacks of shop-grade potatoes have also dropped off, even though at £4 it is the cheapest way to buy potatoes which last for up to three months. It also saves on food miles since most local supermarket potatoes hail from Ormskirk, Lancashire.

Philip's wife Julie said: "Philip's mum used to sell bags of potatoes at the door, now I'm doing it but all my customers are 60-plus. We try to re-educate younger people but they don't want to buy things they have to prepare or can't put in a microwave or doesn't look like they think it ought to look."

Nationally, potatoes enjoy an enduring place in the British diet. We eat six million tonnes of them a year despite the increasing popularity of pasta and rice.

But sales of fresh potatoes have dipped from more than 70kg per person per year in 1998 to around 40kg while consumption of processed spuds, spanning everything from oven chips to toppings on frozen shepherds pies have climbed from just under 40kg to more than 50kg. And, when it comes to buying fresh potatoes we have become increasingly keen on getting the right shape as well as convenience spuds, scrubbed and ready for the pot.

"Customers are very particular on size and shape nowadays," said Ray Brocklebank, of Ulverston and Dalton greengrocers Brocklebanks. "Our biggest seller through the shop is a washed variety which are graded so they're all the same size, at six to eight ounces."

Furthermore, fewer people are choosing to bulk buy, a trend recorded by Parsons of Kendal as well as Mr Brocklebank. Mr Brocklebank said: "Thirty years ago we would sell 20 to 30 sacks of potatoes in a week, it's two or three now."

The National Trust is trying to improve the reputation of non-uniform produce with an ugly vegetable' competition in a bid to encourage consumers to choose taste over cosmetics.

But Mr Wilson believes only a return to less-affluent times will prompt a revival for the bargain sack of spuds in all their glorious shapes and sizes.

Gazette Food Writer Gillian Cowburn suggests scrubbing lumpy' spuds in hot water to get rid of all the dirt. They can then be cut in half or quartered, depending on their size, then boiled, drained and crushed with a large fork. Stir in butter or olive oil, and chopped herbs, add seasoning and then serve.