Let's drink to that: Pub punters beat the credit crunch by trading home-grown produce for beer

Thrifty punters have begun bartering home-grown produce in exchange for beer and even pub meals.

Various items of fresh fruit, fish, meat and vegetables have been exchanged, with the amount of pints, meals or vouchers offered linked to the size, quantity and quality of the items presented.

A sign placed inside the pub says: 'If you grow, breed, shoot or steal anything that may look at home on our menu, then bring it in and let's do a deal.'

Beer we go: Vegetables and eggs can be exchanged for ale at The Pigs

So far pints have been swapped in place of potatoes, mackerel and a kilo of fresh fruit.

Locally shot rabbits, pheasants and pigeons have also been exchanged for beer.

Meals for deals: Customers can even nab a pub lunch in return for produce

The Pigs pub, in Edgefield, near Holt, Norfolk, even encourages locals to contribute to its traditional food menu in return for free alcohol.

Manager Cloe Wasey, 24, said the offer has taken off as people have started to feel the pinch financially.

'We've been doing it for almost two years now but the success of it has only just recently started to boom with the credit crunch setting in,' she added.

'People need to find different ways to go out and this helps.

'It's also great for us because we get produce at a good price, although we have high standards so the food we get in has to meet those.

'We find the home grown stuff is often much better than what we can get from the suppliers.

'Someone will say "that rabbit tasted great" and we say 'here, meet the person who shot it".'

Driver Derek Feast, 64, a regular in the pub, recently swapped some of the free range chicken eggs he breeds for a pint.

'I have a job where I earn the national minimum wage so this little bit of extra money helps me get out,' he said. 'The odd penny here and there really helps.'

Miss Wasey, who runs the pub with her business partner Tim Abbott, 24, who is head chef, said the scheme has helped cement the pub's place at the heart of the village community.

'It gives us a more local feel,' she said.