A NORFOLK butcher is proving a hit in the art world after he swapped his meat cleaver for a paint-brush.Andrew Edmonds can normally be seen behind the counter of his Bradwell Butchery shop in the village near Yarmouth, as he sells tasty sausages, chops and steaks.

A NORFOLK butcher is proving a hit in the art world after he swapped his meat cleaver for a paint-brush.

Andrew Edmonds can normally be seen behind the counter of his Bradwell Butchery shop in the village near Yarmouth, as he sells tasty sausages, chops and steaks.

But now Mr Edmonds is surrounded by colourful paintings, bronze sculptures and sketch portraits as he holds a display of more than 130 pieces of his own art.

The 47-year-old is exhibiting a varied collection of work he created over the last 10 years in Yarmouth library until Saturday.

His first-ever art display features many oil paintings of the Norfolk countryside, animal sculptures and portraits of his children.

And the talented artist and award- winning butcher has certainly turned the eye of cultured art lovers as he has sold exhibits and commissions worth £15,000 during the exhibition so far.

Mr Edmonds has always been interested in art but he had to give it up to concentrate on his butcher's business.

However, in the last 10 years he has started to devote evenings to his painting hobby and he uses his butchery knowledge to help create extremely life-like sculptures of horses, pigs and bulls.

Mr Edmonds said: “As a butcher I can see the muscles and bones as I create the sculptures. Someone in the shop saw my bull sculpture and asked if I had won it as a prize because they did not know I was an artist as well.

“I love art and painting especially. I know what I like and what I love and if people do not like it, it does not bother me at all because I paint for myself.

“The Norfolk countryside is such a wonderful place and I think not enough people truly appreciate its beauty.”

Mr Edmonds said he could not choose art over being a butcher as he liked the mental challenge of his creative hobby and the physical aspect of his career.

He said he was so keen to set up his first exhibition that he laid out all the pieces in his Bradwell garden to see if they would all fit in the library.

In 2007, Bradwell Butchery won a coveted sausage-of-the-year award and was nominated for the butcher of the year ceremony.

Mr Edmonds' free art exhibition runs until Saturday and is open daily from 10am to 4pm.