There are over 8,500 animals at the Great Yorkshire show, with a record 3,250 sheep, many of them rare breeds.

In the Wensleydale sheep section, winners of the Championship were Harrison Spinks, who use the breed's exceptionally soft wool to put into their handmade beds.

Run by Simon Spinks at the farm near Tadcaster they have been breeding Wensleydale sheep since 2016 and also carried off the championship last year.

Managers Rebecca and Liam McPartland said they were overwhelmed to win again. Rebecca said: “I am shocked, amazed, excited and so happy, I really can’t believe it. We won last year and I really didn’t think we would win this year.

“Wensleydale wool goes into the higher end beds because it is such good quality, it is the longest wool breed. The story goes back to 2008 when Simon Spinks woke up one day and looked out of his window at 300 acres of land and thought 'why am I importing wool for my beds from New Zealand when I could be producing it myself'. We started off with Hemp and Flax and introduced the breeding flock of Wensleydales in 2016 because they are a North Yorkshire breed.

“It is a lot of work, they are a rare breed and it is important that these breeds are preserved and nurtured, because the fleece is so long it takes a lot of looking after but it is worthwhile. It’ is a real boost to win this year, we don’t do many shows but the Great Yorkshire Show is the one you really want to win especially because the Wensleydales are a local breed.

“While it is wonderful to win it does mean that the challenge will be to try and win next year to make it a hat trick and that really puts the pressure on.”