HE has been dubbed the Sausage King.

And after meeting Stephen Plume in Welwyn, I would agree it is a moniker he thoroughly deserves.

During our brief conversation, it quickly emerged he knows an awful lot about sausages.

Stephen had been visiting Gareth’s Butchers in Great North Road on his latest ‘Sausage Adventure’.

For the uninitiated, this involves him visiting butchers around the UK on a motorbike to help promote the great British sausage.

He told the WHT: “The point of the journey is to raise the profile of British pork and high quality sausage makers.

“We are, after all, a nation of sausage lovers with over 12m being eaten every day!”

Stephen explained there are more than 500 different types of bangers available in the UK.

However, he reserved particular praise for Gareth’s own ‘Oaklands Sausage’.

“It is like nothing I have ever tasted before,” he said.

“Sometimes sausages can be a bit heavy and you can get a bit of fat in your mouth but this is very light and fluffy.”

Married Stephen, who lives near Diss in Norfolk, acquired his rather suggestive nickname after founding a website entitled www.sausagefans.com

The site — which pledges to provide visitors with the complete guide to the great British banger – now attracts in excess of 5m hits a year.

Gareth Lindley, the owner of Gareth’s Butchers, described the Sausage King’s visit as “fantastic”.

In between offering customers samples of his hand-made bangers, he said: “He [Stephen] has been following us on Twitter for a couple of months now.

“He has been looking forward to today – we all have.”

He added: “Hopefully this is going to help promote sausages.

“The great British sausage is very popular.”