Andrew Tickle knows about squeezing a living – the juice he’s extracting has won a national award from a berry many have never heard of.

Former civil engineer Andrew, 60, decided just three years ago to grow aronia berries, which originated in north America, in his fields at Ash and Highham.

He was looking to grow a crop which fitted into a specialist niche market and that could flourish in poor soils. He has never looked back and has been named Specialist Fruit Grower of 2016.

He has also been highly commended for Best Business Innovation and is now a finalist in the Soft Fruit Grower category. He received his award from Paula Sinha, of the popular TV quiz show The Chase.

So far he has some 4,000 aronia berry plants growing in his fields, the largest at five-acre Johnsons Farm in Ash, where he has lived most of his life.

The little black berry could have strong medicinal-type qualities. Mr Tickle said: “They are very high in anti-oxidants. They’re believed to be good at supporting the body’s cells, giving them greater ability to protect themselves.”

An NHS England website carries a BBC report about the berry being laboratory tested by researchers, using an extract of the berry on pancreatic cells.

They found that adding it to gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug used in the treatment of pancreatic cancers, it was more effective at halting the growth of cancer cells than the drug alone.

However, the report cautions considerable more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

“I feel very pleased about the awards. There were some very serious berry growers in that competition and we beat them.” - Mr Tickle.

The aronia berry bush can grow to two metres in both height and width, each one capable of producing over 13g of fruit. They are sharp-tasting and similar to cranberries and black currants.

Mr Tickle said: “I’m producing 6,000 bottles of the juice annually in 330ml bottles and my main route to market is through online sales.”

Three bottles sell for £19.99p including postage and packing. He calls his product TickleBerries, a name suggested by his niece who told him: “Since no one knows what these berries are, you can call them what you like!”

Mr Tickle said: “I feel very pleased about the awards. There were some very serious berry growers in that competition and we beat them.”