A HEREFORDSHIRE butchers has said it's "absolutely stoked" to be named as finalists in two major awards.

Saying it was a great start to the new year, Hanks' Meat and Game in Broad Street, Ross-on-Wye, found out it was nominated for Best Game Butcher at the national 2022 Eat Game Awards.

Then it found out it was up for the Butchers Shop of the Year for Best New Butchery Business, which it likened to the "Meaty Oscars".

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Having only opened in 2018, owner Tim Hanks said: "We're absolutely delighted to have been announced for these awards and are very committed to doing the best for our customers and suppliers that we can.

"The buzz and excitement on social media for our achievements are truly humbling and we are so grateful for the support and encouragement.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank my brilliant team in the shop and my mum who makes all of the pies and pasties and the wonderful customers who nominated us."

Hanks' will find out their fate later in the year.

"All we need now is people to vote for us on the Eat Game Awards website so that we can win and by the looks of all of the messages of support on our socials, this appears to be well underway – we have one month to get as many votes in as we can," he said.

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“For Butchers Shop of the Year, we submitted a lengthy entry form showcasing all elements of the business; everything from our new website and branding to our suppliers and operations management, so it's great to see that all of the hard work has paid off and we are now getting national recognition for the shop from our meat sector peers.

"Our success in these awards will be determined by an inspection by the judges, so fingers crossed for this.”

The Eat Game Awards are aimed at celebrating the best wild British produce, recognising culinary achievements and other contributions to the cooking and eating of game.

The general public were invited to nominate the individuals or businesses they felt embodied the criteria in each category. The top 10 nominees from this process have now moved on to the voting stage to become a top finalist.

You can help Mr Hanks and the team by voting once in all or some of the categories via the Eat Game Awards website: eatgame.co.uk/eat-game-awards/voting/