BARRY’S butchers have launched a joint mission to put the finest meats on your table this Christmas Day.

Anthony Hopkins, Vic Hopkins & Son butchers in High Street, and Ceri Williams, of Marshalls on Holton Road, have also thrown their weight behind the our ‘Your High Street: use it or lose it’ campaign.

They are the only remaining butchers in the town, which once had no less than 42 in total.

The duo, who both went to Romilly school, say the want residents to enjoy Christmas stress-free in 2016, and are providing one-stop shops for all festive dinner needs.

Both offer quality homemade products, and offer tips on cooking and preparation, advice on serving sizes, and help to shoppers who want to create healthy that are tasty at the same time.

Mr Hopkins said: “The B&D’s ‘Your High Street: Use it or lose it’ campaign is a great way of bringing to the public’s attention the quality shops that are on our doorstep. Shopping on a high street is a pleasure rather than the chore of the supermarket. Many people assume that a supermarket is the only place to find certain things that they need to buy. This campaign is changing that misconception.

“We serve the people of Barry and the Vale, but we get visitors from all over saying how they wish their town had a butcher shop like ours. We often see expats coming in whilst they’re visiting home as well, saying that they 'can’t get meat like yours' elsewhere or asking us on Facebook if we’ll deliver abroad.

“Shop local whenever possible with any high street shop.

"This Christmas invest in your local community – not a CEOs pocket.

“The greatest benefit is where you money goes.

"We buy from local Welsh farmers and, when I pay my staff who live in Barry and Rhoose, our wages are spent in the same places yours are – fuelling the same local community.”

Ceri Williams said Marshalls was one of the first butchers in Barry, having been established in 1889.

It is the exclusive provider of rare-breed pork which is raised in Barry. It runs a Christmas club and takes credit and debit cards. Goose, duck, venison, boar, rabbit and pheasant are all also available.

Mr Williams said: “It is a fantastic campaign championing the heart of every community - the town centre. We are proud to be an independent family butchers. There aren't many of us left. It would be a sad affair if we lost this old tradition.

“We are still so pleased that many people prefer to shop with small businesses. Not only do they want personal service and quality products, they also appreciate the care we put into our work. People are becoming wise to the cost and quality cutting of the supermarkets and do not want the additives that can be hidden in their products.

“We also love a chat and a joke and are always very pleased to see you. There is no 'computer says no' with us.

“Use it or lose it. We are here to provide a service. We are also here to earn a living and support our families.

"If people stopped using their high street, quite simply the shops would close and we would live in a ghost town with no heart but plenty of impersonal supermarkets. Nobody wants that.”

To get involved with our 'Your High Street: use it or lose it’ campaign, call us on 01633 777221.