Pies made on South Tyneside have proved such a hit they will now reign supreme on the shelves of a supermarket giant, and make a big dent in food miles.

Pies made by traditional butcher Dicksons made their debut at eight Asda stores a few weeks ago and have been so popular that they will now be stocked in all 22 of its stores in the region.

The second generation family butcher business, which launched in South Shields in 1953, employs 250 staff among its 20 shops and factory on the town's Middlefields Industrial Estate.

James Dodds of Asda's local sourcing team said: "Their pies have been a phenomenal success. In our Boldon and South Shields stores they became top- selling pies almost overnight and already massively out-sell any other brand of pie.

"We're now rolling them out to all Asda stores in the North-East from September.

"Introducing Dicksons' pies means we're cutting down in those stores the number of pies we sell that are made in Lincolnshire and the North West.

"Selling local lines dramatically cuts down the miles food has to travel, which is becoming increasingly important."

Dicksons managing director Michael Dickson said: "Given that we began to sell only sausages in five Asda stores last year then were able to launch the pies in eight of their stores, this is great news."

The news comes hot on the heels of another accolade - this time from a national survey by Men'sHealth magazine into the fare served up by Premiership football clubs. The report said Dicksons' "no nonsense" barbecue sausage, served up at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, is "hard to beat".

Dicksons has been providing the sausage, plus mince pies and cheese pasties, to the stadium for some years.