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Pictured: Fruit farmer Jonathan Hoskyns checks the dabinett cider apple trees in his orchard at North Perrott Fruit Farm in Somerset.

Cider apple growers are preparing for a bumper crop this year - but due to the pandemic the fruit will be used to make electricity instead of cider.

With festivals cancelled and pubs and restaurants closed for much of last year, most big cider companies still have a stock of apple concentrate from 2019 and will not need new harvests this year.

Fruit farmer Jonathan Hoskyns will still get paid a reduced rate for his crop from the cider company.

But instead of letting the apples rot in the orchard, he is planning to send his cider apples to a biodigester which breaks down organic waste into natural energy.