A UNIQUE new shop has opened in Malton selling just one product - butter.

Butterbees has already made the national headlines as Britain's first butter "boutique", with the spread hand-made on the premises.

Owners Lucy and Stephen Briden-Kenny left their jobs in March after spotting a gap in the market for artisan butter.

The couple met at York University and after getting married, Lucy started training to become a lawyer, while Stephen worked for a laboratory.

Lucy said: "We both had jobs that weren't quite 'doing it' for us and we always knew we wanted to have a business of our own and work together.

"Then in 2014 we came over to the food festival and really liked Malton, so we moved here the same weekend a year later."

Lucy said in the first year of living in the town they decided they would like to set up food business and set about thinking what it might be.

"Butter sprung to mind because everyone likes it, there aren't many people making it in small batches locally and with all the fantastic bakers around we knew we could make it a hit," she said.

"We started in February at home and it immediately did well. We sold into farm shops and at weekend markets and within a fortnight we had decided to give up our jobs and do it full-time, which was scary but it has worked out okay."

Lucy said soon they had outgrown their kitchen and the idea came about for a butter shop.

"As far as we know, no one else is doing this, we're proud of that," she said.

"We opened over the Malton Food Festival weekend, in May, exactly a year after we'd moved here, and it's been growing ever since.

"I thought that the shop would mainly be a production space for our wholesale and market stock, that people could pop into if they wanted to, but it's actually quite busy in itself - which is great."

Lucy added: "We set up a website and have now got orders coming in from all over the country which is really special.

"In terms of the butter - it's good because it's fresh. We make it the day people buy it from us so it's the best you can get. We use great cream from local cows and all of our ingredients and packaging are from Yorkshire, too - even the boxes.

"Our most popular flavour is Sea Salt, followed by 'Sunday Roast' - which has garlic and rosemary in it. We also have a sweet honey butter on occasionally, and we're always thinking up some other flavours to add to the collection."

Tom Naylor Leyland, director of Malton’s Food Lovers Festival, said: “Butterbees Butter Parlour is an exceptional story. It is exciting to think that their little house of butter at in Malton is now one of the only places in the UK you can go and watch fresh artisan butter being hand churned butter before your eyes."