A BUTCHER is raising a toast to the humble haggis - after posting record sales in the run-up to Burns night.

Nigel Ovens, of McCaskie's in Wemyss Bay, has more reason to celebrate the Bard this year because his award-winning Scottish delicacy has been flying out the door like never before.

Since the end of November, Nigel and his team have produced a whopping 5,000lbs of it, with almost half of that in the last fortnight alone.

As always, the popular pudding has been in demand ahead of Burns night tonight, but the craft butcher says it is a product that is now enjoyed all year round.

Nigel's recipe is a closely-guarded secret but he gave Tele reporter Paul John Coulter a go at packaging the haggis at the state-of-the-art £800,000 production unit, which was officially opened by Princess Anne in March 2018, behind his Shore Road butcher shop.

He told the Tele: "This is definitely a record-breaking year for us.

"We've produced 2,000lbs of haggis in last couple of weeks and we sent out a record 150 parcels in two days from online orders placed through our new website.

"The McCaskie's brand continues to grow and this year we've supplied a number of butcher shops and delis with haggis, including 1,000 units to butcher's shops in London. "It also features on the menu at prestigious Scottish restaurants and hotels for their Burns suppers.

"A lot of households are now celebrating Burns with a haggis.

"While demand really jumps around Burns night, haggis is becoming more and more popular throughout the year."

The McCaskie's pudding, which comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes, is the most successful in Scotland having won an array of honours over the years, including the coveted 'world championship' from Scottish Craft Butchers in 2015/16 and is the current 'reserve champion'.

Nigel said: "I'm very pleased with how things have been going.

"Retail is hard but we've picked up a lot of good quality steak houses in Edinburgh, for example, and we're in ongoing negotiations with a supermarket, which is interested in stocking our haggis and our award-winning black pudding.

"We're also a recognised UK cutting plant now and we have SALSA (safe and local supplier approval) accreditation, which means we are approved to the highest standards of traceability and quality for our products, which are hand-made here in Wemyss Bay by our small team of 24 staff."