A traditional butcher's shop in Brighton has been saved from closure thanks to a farmer.

Tim Carnaghan, who farms 12,000 acres at Standean Farm, stretching from the Brighton bypass across the Downs to Ditchling, has taken over the lease on the shop in Ladies Mile Road, Patcham, as part of an exercise in diversification.

Mr Carnaghan now employs two people at the shop, which was faced with closure at the end of last year.

He said: "The previous owner wanted to retire and it looked as if Patcham was about to lose its only butcher's. Once a shop closes it is very hard to start a business up. People find other sources.

"Supermarkets are the biggest competitors for local butchers and there are plenty of them around.

"Ironically, a fair percentage of the meat from my farm does end up in supermarkets but I saw an opportunity to keep a local butcher's shop open and supply it with lamb and beef from the farm.

"It is a new venture for me and I'm pleased to say the shop is doing well. We have already introduced lower prices and business is growing.

"Now Christmas is over, we are promoting the freezer order side of the business."

Diversification is not a new concept for Mr Carnaghan, whose farm is a mixture of arable and livestock.

Empty buildings have been turned into a livery yard and cottages are now homes.

"It is relatively easy for farmers here to diversify. We have a huge potential market on our doorstep. It's a different matter for a Welsh hill farmer - what other opportunities do they have?

"Standean Farm is in an environmentally-sensitive area and, although we are not 100 per cent organic, we are close.

"We have a policy of not using fertilisers on the grazing land and keeping the use of chemicals to the minimum."