Stories about people

A butchers shop in Worcestershire, which saw its trade badly hit by the summer floods last year, has successfully reinvented itself as an internet business.

Clare Lusted

Clare Lusted, says she and her father Barry realised they needed to take 'drastic action' when their shop became deserted last summer – as the surrounding streets in Evesham, were submerged under six feet of water.

"Evesham was a ghost town, we were stranded at work, we looked at each other and just thought why don't we really push this internet thing?

"The water didn't come into our shop on the High Street, but our customers were in caravans – they'd had to move out of their homes – who wants a freezer full of meat in a caravan? And there was no barbecue season – who wants a floating barbecue?”

Clare says that selling meat online is a new idea, but in five months they've attracted more than 2,000 customers.

"We still have strong local trade, but we knew there was potentially a nationwide market for high quality meat, and we were really keen to continue to support British farmers.

"We only buy our fresh meat and poultry from British farms and wholesalers and source our produce locally wherever possible."