A family pasty firm in Helston with a strong local following has been sold to a rival local company.

Hayle-based Philps has revealed it is taking over Horse and Jockey in Meneage Street, along with its sister outlet in Porthleven.

Both shops have been up for sale since the start of last year, when owners Brian and Juliette Shore decided to retire after more than 30 years.

The business has been owned by the Shores since it opened in 1986, selling pasties, sandwiches and cakes.

It has a developed a huge customer fanbase for its homemade-style pasties of generous proportions.

Smart Commercial Property has been marketing the business with a guide price of £320,000 and contracts are understood to have now been exchanged with the Philp family, with a completion date expected soon.

Tim Smart, who has been overseeing the sale, said Philps planned to spend some money refitting and rebranding both shops, as well as extend the range of products being offered.

He confirmed that all existing staff - some of which had been there 15 years or more - would be kept on, adding that the new owners were delighted to find people with skills in crimping.

He said: "It's good for Helston. It was a nice deal and both parties wanted to do it."

Mr Smart revealed that there had also been interest from another company but that the Shores wanted to sell the business to local people.

"They [the Philp family] are extremely nice people and very family orientated. The team of people that run it are all brothers and sisters and uncles," he added.

Mr Smart added that Trevor Osborne, of Porthleven Harbour & Dock Company, had been "very helpful" in extending the lease on the port shop.

While Horse and Jockey will be missed by many, Philps has an equally strong reputation in the area, with its main base in Hayle and other outlets in Marazion, Praze-an-Beeble, St Ives and Camborne. This is the first time they have opened in the Helston and Lizard area however.

The business was originally started by Sammy Philp and his cousin Everett, who was the baker of the family. He was the one who began making pasties in the 1950s and could allegedly produce close to 3,000 in a day, all rolled by hand.

Despite officially retiring in 1983, Sammy continued to work six days a week and only stopped two days before he died, aged 90, in 2008. The business is now run by Sammy's grandchildren.