FARMERS across North Yorkshire are busy gathering their harvest while the sun shines.

Glasses are being raised to the current heatwave, as it means harvest time has begun slightly earlier. Among the farm workers welcoming the weather was Paul Wainwright, of Holtby, near York.

Paul, 25, works for JSR farms, which owns 8,000 acres of arable land between Buttercrambe, near Stamford Bridge, and Hornsea, near Driffield.

Paul said: "It is a bit of a misconception that harvest is in September or October, it hasn't been that way for a long time.

"This weather is great for us though, it means we can get ahead, it takes the pressure off for later because we are bound to get rained-off at some point."

Among the thousands of tonnes of crops JSR harvests will be wheat, potatoes, spring barley and onions.

Once the summer is over, Paul can start thinking about his winter passion - snowboarding.

He said: "I work away in the ski resorts for three months every winter. I love it."

Updated: 11:07 Friday, August 08, 2003