TWO friends have been tasting their way around Dorset to create unique gift hampers entirely sourced from within the county.

Hayley Davis and Laurie Griffin are the brains behind Cherry Picked Hampers, a new business creating luxury hampers filled with mouth-watering Dorset produce.

The pair met two years when they moved to Milborne St Andrew, and after falling in love with their surroundings decided to launch a business inspired by their shared appreciation of the county.

Laurie, 35, who previously worked for McLaren, said: "We both absolutely love Dorset and all the fresh produce and products, it has so much to offer and there is so much to do, we just really want to promote the area."

Starting out in November last year, the pair spent six months sampling a diverse range of food and drink striving to find the best and most varied products the region has to offer.

Hampers include a variety of wines from nearby vineyards, beers and ciders from Dorset brewers, delectable cheeses direct from cheesemakers, as well as world-renowned chocolate, chutneys, and biscuits all presented in traditional, hand-woven wicker hampers.

Laurie said: "Our hampers make great gifts for family, friends, colleagues or even business to business. We also make holiday hampers which are really nice for people to leave in holiday lets with fresh eggs and sausages sourced from local farms.

"A lot of thought goes into each of our hampers, we carefully gift wrap every single hamper and offer free personalised labels. We are keen to keep the rustic village feel, we not a big corporate company."

Customers also have the option to select from hampers inspired by well-known towns such as Dorchester of Bridport, or opt for the bespoke personalised hamper service, which can be shipped anywhere throughout the UK and Ireland.

Hayley, 42, who previously worked at an IT engineer, said: "We would just really like to see the business grow and grow and help promote Dorset produce even more.

“It would be nice to see some of the products from smaller businesses we love on the shelves of more shops or some of the amazing beers and ciders made here available in more pubs."

"Quite often we have people who live here and want to send a little bit of Dorset to someone else out of the area which is a really nice thing."

"I think we have come a long way over the past year. This will be our first official Christmas, and the hampers make really good gifts, they have something for everyone.”

To discover the hampers head to www.cherrypickedhampers.co.uk

Or, email sales@cherrypickedhampers.co.uk