A Birchington farm is set to become the first in the country to produce its own virgin sunflower oil after growing 10 acres of the bright yellow flowers.

Planted in June, the sunflowers have been thriving at Quex Park farm in a trial to establish if the oil that can be produced has a viable market. They are due to be harvested in the autumn when the seeds will be 'cold pressed’, to retain all the nutrients, and offered for sale as virgin sunflower oil, said estate manager Anthony Curwen.

“We hope we can sell the oil through the estate’s farm shop, health shops and locaal delis,” he said.

“We wanted to try growing something unusual here because the Thanet climate is different from many other parts of the country. As we are surrounded by sea on three sides, the climate is milder and we have good soil which stays warmer than arable land in say, East Anglia. Those factors combine to give crops a better head start in March and early spring so it’s worth trying out something more often seen growing in northern or central France.

“This trial might go nowhere yet but this is small scale research and development for us. We’re also exploring the idea of getting the natural oil from rape flowers as well.”

To date, the sunflowers have grown to five feet tall and, while perhaps past their blooming best now, have brought a bright, eye catching change to the farm’s field skyline.