Award-winning butcher David Lishman is leading a campaign to create an official Yorkshire Sausage to be unveiled in Ilkley on Yorkshire Day, Monday, August 1.

He has been travelling around the county with six varieties of specially-designed sausages and gathering votes from taste tests to find the winning banger.

So far, more than 900 votes have been cast, and later this month, Mr Lishman will return to his shop in Ilkley to allow local folk to put his sausages to the test.

Sausage fans will be able to sample his six varieties outside Lishman’s from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

Twice Champion of Champions winner for his famous sausages and a Yorkshire man born-and-bred, Mr Lishman is delighted with how the sampling has gone so far.

“We’ve had a great response with people queuing to sample our bangers and cast their votes,” the Yorkshire Sausage ambassador said.

The campaign has been championed and backed by Welcome to Yorkshire.

The group’s chief executive, Gary Verity, said: “Yorkshire has a rich history of producing some of the finest food in the country, so it makes sense to celebrate this with a search for a true Yorkshire sausage.

“The sampling roadshows are a great way to involve the public and we hope that the Yorkshire Sausage will soon become a household name nationwide – and beyond.”

After Ilkley, there will be further taste tests including at the Victoria Quarter, Leeds (outside Harvey Nichols) on Thursday, June 16; the Leeds Loves Food festival on Friday to Sunday, July 1 to 3, and The Great Yorkshire Show from Tuesday to Thursday, July 12 to 14.

For details on the Yorkshire Sausage campaign and sausage sampling events, go to yorkshire.com/delicious.