A family butcher's business, which started in a small parade of Keighley shops more than a century ago has gone global.

Since Chris Battle, his wife Barbara and daughters sold their shop - Jack Scaife Butchers in Keighley Market - and switched to selling on the Internet, demand for their products has boomed.

Turnover has rocketed from £70,000 just 18 months ago to £750,000. Their bacon is now being sold in Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, Venezuela and Peru. It is also in big demand right across this country, along with cured hams, sausages and black and white puddings.

Fifty-one-year-old Chris owes the success of his new venture to his daughters, 31-year-old Joanne and Angela, 25, who persuaded him to set up the web site.

"The girls talked me into going on the web. I was scared at first and sceptic. I'd only just got used to using a calculator," he said.

"I didn't believe our old fashioned products, produced in traditional ways, would find a market on the web. But now I'm a complete convert."

Chris and his wife Barbara took over the reins from Barbara's father, Jack. His father, Bob, started the business in a small shop in East Parade, Keighley, about 103 years ago.

"It just shows what a small family business like ours, which started all those years ago, can do. The web has been marvellously successful for us," he said.

"What I like is that it puts us on a level playing field with the big boys like Harrods and other multi-national companies."

Only recently a survey, carried out by international retailers organisation Interactive Media in Retail, praised the Scaife e-commerce site, saying it was better than the Harrods web site.

"I like that fact that we can be open for business seven days a week, 24 hours a day. We even get people sending in orders at three and four in the morning," said Chris.

"We will send anything out - we don't have any restrictions on the amount - and we like to turn everything round within 24 hours."

Almost 40 per cent of Scaife's sales are now on the Internet, with the rest from established trade and Chris believes it can only continue to grow.

l The address for the company's web site is www.Jackscaife.co.uk.

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