SERIOUSLY good sausages made to an 80-year-old Polish recipe have helped two Bolton brothers win a string of awards.

Geoff and Chris Unsworth's reputation is spreading, thanks to success in a host of UK and European food competitions.

Geoff, aged 39, of Westhoughton, ran Unsworth's Deli in Bolton Market with his mum, Sue, until she died in January last year.

In September, he sold the business and joined his brother Chris, aged 42, who is president of Bolton Butchers' Association, at Andrews Continental Delicacies in Salford. Since then, the pair have been taking the sausage world by storm.

On Sunday their sausages won four golds at the Grand Prix de Charcuterie in Charleroi, Belgium. They won with their special Polish-style Kabanos as well as a Chorizo and a De-Paris sausage. They also won Best British Ham for their smoked ham.

Last Thursday, they won Best Sausage and Producer of the Year at the North-west Fine Foods Awards, receiving the award at a ceremony at Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Blackburn.

The pair also heard on Monday that they had won a further two golds and a silver at a food show in Holland.

Chris, who lives in Ainsworth, says the sausages have been entered in 11 competitions during the last three years, winning at them all.

He said: "We don't compromise on quality and use the finest ingredients, with locally-sourced pork in a traditional recipe that has existed for more than 80 years. They are 95 per cent meat, with stone ground spices and natural skins. They are all hand-made.

"We got the kabanos recipe from two Polish guys who came to the UK after the First World War and set up a sausage factory called Andrews in Royton. I took over the name and the recipe about 20 years ago."

Chris has been a butcher since he was 12, when he started work in his home town of Atherton. He went on to work with Geoff and his parents, Sue and Jack, on Bolton Market.

Now the brothers are supplying sausages to shops across the world, including Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

Geoff said his sausages also won a first prize in Austria last year.

He said: "We caused a bit of a stir. Austrians are world class sausage makers so beating them was a real feather in our cap."