WHO needs a summer holiday when Worcestershire is so stunning at this time of year?

A couple of weeks ago, I gathered with local VIPs in Westminster to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a wonderful tourist destination marketed to visitors from all over the world planning a day trip – or longer - from London.

I have been keen to make the point to everyone that we must dual more of the tracks along the Cotswold Line to Worcestershire and Herefordshire to help make it easier and more convenient for tourists to visit and stay in our beautiful counties.

We've also enjoyed the Malvern Royal Three Counties Show, July sees the delightful Three Choirs Festival, followed by the Tenbury Countryside Show and the Apple Festival later in the year.

Stunning events like these rely on local people to volunteer and enable their success. They also bring thousands of people to visit our area spending money in local shops, pubs and other businesses.

Summer weather brings good news not only for tourism but also for farmers and growers. Our crops of hops which help to produce world-class beer are also exported to the USA and our apples help to keep the Worcestershire and national cider trade thriving. These products are at the heart of the local economy and our farmers and growers create hundreds of seasonal jobs at this time of year.

There are those of us who regularly pick our own punnets of strawberries and raspberries for puddings and jams. It’s still a popular activity but these days we also depend on workers from across the world to pick, sort and pack our produce. I meet regularly with the local National Farmers Union to talk about the challenges of farming locally and had a very constructive session with the local Tenbury NFU branch only a few weeks ago to talk about a range of their agricultural challenges.

Whenever I meet supermarket chains I ask them about their commitment to using local producers and I urge you all to make a special visit to a local independent food or farm shop to buy some locally reared meat, some fresh local fruit or vegetables or even one of our tasty locally brewed beers or ciders.

Worcestershire is one of the strongest growing regions in the country and our farmers can only keep producing with your support.