A Drighlington family firm which practices one of the rarest crafts in Britain - making the hair for the bows of some of the world's most famous violinists - is hoping to start trading in Italy, the home of the violin.

Horse hair dresser Michael Sowden, who works with his sons Mark and Michael, provides the hair needed to make bows for nearly all the globe's virtuoso players - and they are the only people carrying out the trade outside China.

The firm supplies the hair for virtually all professional violinists in the UK including Nigel Kennedy and Vanessa Mae.

They already trade with 44 countries but are hoping to expand into Italy where the world-famous Stradivari violins were made.

Mr Sowden, 54, said: "I started out as a horse dresser around 40 years ago and now me and my sons are the only ones who know how to do it.

"The skill is picking out the hairs which are good enough to be used in a bow. Sometimes only three hairs from a whole tail will be smooth enough.

"It would be a dream come true exporting more to Italy as it is considered as the Mecca of the violin maker's world.''

Mr Sowden, whose company is based in King Mill, King Street, said the horse hair was bought from suppliers in South America and Mongolia, then cleaned, disinfected, sorted and cut.

From a batch of hair weighing 10 kgs around 150 are sold on to bow makers.

And the left-overs are put to good use, being sold to make judges' wigs, manes for rocking horses and brushes.

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