A Pembrokeshire company producing calf colostrum as a health drink is hoping to recruit more local dairy farmer suppliers to help it meet rising demand.

Colostrum UK, which is based at Bethesda and is operated by John Rolfs, is producing the colostrum drink for athletes.

Colostrum is abundant in bio-active components and a trial conducted in 2011 in conjunction with Aberystwyth University found that it could enhance athletic performance.

Mr Rolfs is currently working with Welsh universities to prove the product can boost the immune system and improve a number of digestive conditions.

He started drink colostrum after undergoing major surgery five years ago but had to import it from New Zealand.

"It seems strange to me that we have cows standing in the fields here and no-one is collecting it," he said. "People have been unaware of its qualities."

Mr Rolfs is sourcing the colostrum from local farms and is looking for colostrum from another 3,000 cows to meet demand.

"We are in the right place, among the right community, at the right time.’’

The properties in colostrum have been revered for thousands of years across many cultures: in ancient Chinese medicine it was regarded as a vital health-giving potion, and for the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania it has long been regarded as an important part of a healthy diet.

Most of the commercially available bovine colostrum here comes from organic cows in New Zealand