SAUSAGE fan Stephen Plume is preparing for a nationwide tour to find Britain's best bangers.

James Mortlock

MATHS teacher Stephen Plume loves a good sausage.

In fact, he's so passionate about quality bangers he set up a website devoted to Britain's best sausages and where to get hold of them.

Now, he is taking on a lengthy journey around Britain - during his holidays from Stradbroke Business Enterprise College - to visit the producers of the finest sausages, raise the profile of quality butchers and highlight the plight of British pig farmers at the same time.

Mr Plume, 29, who comes from Bury St Edmunds and now lives near Diss, began his tour in Newmarket yesterday at the famous Musks sausage plant.

He said: “What better place to start than at Musks, the sausages produced here use such lean meat extra fat has to be added before the bangers can be made. The purpose of the trip is to raise the profile of good quality British sausages.

“I started www.sausagefans.com in 2000 and it is from running this website that my credentials as a sausage expert have developed. We now have over 1,000 UK recommended butchers and sausage makers listed on our site.

“We also have recommended recipes and cooking tips and send out a monthly mailer called the Sizzler to over 2,000 sausage lovers.”

The first leg of Mr Plume's tour will take him to Lincolnshire and Norfolk and over the next few school holidays he will visit sausages makers in the rest of England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr Plume is taking on the trip riding a Triumph motorbike, which has been loaned by Suffolk Triumph. He said: “Thanks to them it means I will be doing my tour of the British Isles on a British bike in search of the finest British sausages.”

During the trip he will record his impressions of the various producers he visits on his blog at www.sausageking.co.uk