TV chef Tom Kerridge was besieged by fans when he appeared at Walter Rose and Son butchers in Devizes to sign copies of his book, Proper Pub Food.

Hundreds of people queued round the block for an hour and a half before the two-star Michelin chef arrived on Saturday.

He brought 200 copies of his book with him but they sold out within an hour of his arrival and copies were sourced from other shops in the town to meet demand.

But even that wasn’t enough and some buyers were promised a signed copy in the post.

Fans waited patiently to see Mr Kerridge and to have their photo taken with him.

They tucked in to free food served up by him and his team of chefs from the Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. On the menu were faggots, shoulder of lamb, short ribs and pork pies.

Mr Kerridge was delighted to see so many fans. He said: “It is fantastic to see so many people turning out in Devizes.”

The shop has been supplying meat to Mr Kerridge’s pub for the past three years.

Mr Kerridge said: “The best thing about Walter Rose is the way they build relationships with their customers, whether they are professional chefs or just ordinary over-the-counter shoppers.

“For me, the fact they are always willing to listen and prepared to help is everything you want from a top quality butcher and, on top of that, they serve some of the best and finest quality products I have ever seen.”

Walter Rose and Son owner Steve Cook said: “To have Tom pay us that sort of compliment really gives us a sense of achievement. It’s great he took the trouble to come here and to bring his chefs. He did a fantastic job of raising awareness of the importance of authentic quality and butchery skill and that’s part of the message we are trying to get across.

“Tom is like the people’s chef, he is a really down to earth guy. He has got time for people. They queued up for an hour and a half to see him and he had time to talk to everyone, sign his book and had his photo taken with them. He did it for four hours and never waned. He’s a mate as well as a celebrity chef.”

Mr Cook said his shop did well from extra sales on Saturday.