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Strawberry Summer

Sybil Ruscoe meets the UK's only Asian strawberry producer, who set up with a few acres and one glasshouse 20 years ago, and now grows 800 tonnes of soft fruit a year.

Makhan Singh Padda was born in Punjab and arrived in the UK as a teenager in 1966, with his family but not much else. Over the next thirty years, he worked in foundries, factories and fields - before buying a few acres near Worcester in 1996 and planting some strawberries. Originally a one-man operation with just one glasshouse, Vicarage Nurseries has now grown to over 200 acres and produces 800 tonnes of fruit a year. Sybil Ruscoe meets the man known locally as "Mr Strawberry" - the only Asian soft fruit supplier in the UK - and finds out about the determination and hard work which lie behind his remarkable success story.

Produced by Emma Campbell.

Available now

22 minutes

Last on

Sun 19 Aug 2018 06:35

Broadcast

  • Sun 19 Aug 2018 06:35