A HOOK business which specialises in producing top quality yarn, has been won its heat in an award scheme which showcases the very best in British rural enterprise.

The Little Grey Sheep won Outstanding Rural Diversification Project as a regional finalist in the Outstanding Rural Diversification Project category at the Rural Business Awards (RBAs).

It will now go on to represent the region at the national final in February 2019.

The Little Grey Sheep was founded by Emma Boyles, who decided to buy a farm in 2004 having previously worked in telecoms.

The mother-of-three grew up in Pembrokeshire on a dairy farm.

A keen knitter and with a passion for textiles, it was only a matter of time before Emma found a way to produce a unique British yarn at her farm.

Emma, said: “The Little Grey Sheep is unique in the UK, as we specialise in producing high quality, hand dyed, super soft British knitting yarns from our own fine wool flocks, reared on the small family farm.

"While we diversified out of necessity, the business marries my passion for farming with my love of textiles, while the provenance of our wool acts as a unique selling point for our customers. We are honoured to receive the Rural Business Award for Outstanding Diversification Project, and can’t wait to share this exciting news with our team and our customers.”

Now, there are 450 sheep on the farm and the business has gone from strength to strength.

She now ships the product across the world to countries including Australia, America and Japan.

The entrepreneur also cross bred the sheep to create her own breed which has a registered trademark.

All the fleeces are hand-sorted on the farm by shepherdess Susie Parish and Emma to ensure that only the best quality fibres go into the yarn.

The fibre is then washed in Yorkshire and spun in Devon before returning to the farm in Hook to be hand dyed by Emma, who takes inspiration from the surrounding countryside when choosing colours.

Now in its fourth year, the Rural Business Awards is the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses. It is run in partnership with Amazon.

To find out more, go to ruralbusinessawards.co.uk.