Breweries across Huddersfield are toasting a record year - and some are set to expand further.

There are now 15 beer manufacturers in Kirklees, compared to just five in 2010, making it one of the top areas for beer making in the UK.

According to official labour market statistics there are now 995 beer manufacturers up and down the UK - compared to 510 in 2010 - and the vast majority of these are considered ‘micro’ businesses as they employ fewer than 10 people.

In Kirklees alone the number of breweries has tripled in the last five years.

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Huddersfield-based breweries say that business is booming.

Magic Rock Brewing, based at Willow Park Business Centre at Birkby, now employs 30 staff and is looking to take on another three brewing specialists in the coming months.

The brewing plant has rapidly increased capacity - it can now produce two million pints a year - countries are being added to the export list all the time, the most recent being Cyprus.

Duncan Sime, events manager at Magic Rock Brewing, said canned and keg beer were being exported to 25 countries - and Russia was next on the target list.

Magic Rock Brewery and Tap house, Willow Business Park. Tap manager Duncan Sime.

“We now have 30 staff and in the next six months will be taking on another three in specialist roles.”

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At Empire Brewing in Slaithwaite, run by husband and wife Russ and Lorraine Beverley and son Craig, there are plans for an in-house bottling plant as demand grows.

Mrs Beverley said they had recently bought a fourth fermenter as drinkers across the UK continued to enjoy their ales.

Neil Moorhouse, of Milltown Brewing, based in Milnsbridge, produces around 3,000 pints a week, around one quarter of them going to the Dusty Miller pub, Longwood.

Mr Moorhouse said the bottling side of the business was going well and the pub was going from “strength to strength”.

Labour market statistics show that, across the country, Devon and North Yorkshire both had the most beer makers out of anywhere in the UK, with 30 breweries each.

Meanwhile Cumbria, Kent and Norfolk also ranked highly with 25 breweries apiece.

Elsewhere, Cheshire East, Surrey and Nottinghamshire also saw the number of beer manufacturers in their areas triple from five to 15, while Manchester and Edinburgh both went from zero beer makers in 2010 to 10 in 2015.