Britain's leading golfers tee off in the US Open today chasing similar success to the one a Gloucester business has enjoyed on the other side of the Atlantic.

Stewart Golf saw US sales of its trolleys soar to $2million in the first half of 2020 - four times the figure for the same period last year.

And part of the success of the Quedgeley-based business is down to social distancing.

With US golfers unable to share golf carts or rental trolleys, they have turned to Stewart Golf to enable them to take to the course safely without the need to shoulder a heavy bag.

To meet the demand, the company, which makes its trolleys in Gloucestershire, has grown its staff from 14 to 23.

Chief executive Mark Stewart said: "The US has been an important market for our business in recent years, but the last six months have laid bare the importance of exports to our company's growth and resilience.

"Sales to the US have enabled us to continue expanding and we already have plans to increase our production space even further over the year ahead."

Since establishing a base in Gloucester more a decade ago, Stewart Golf has exported trolleys to more than 40 countries.

It became a net exporter for the first time last year with 60 per cent of sales coming from outside the UK - a figure which rose to 78 per cent in June with 60 per cent of total output going to the US.

Minister for Exports Graham Stuart said: "Stewart Golf's success is a fantastic example of British innovation in the sports sector and it is great to see their increased trade creating further employment.

"UK expertise and craftsmanship is in high demand in the US and elsewhere. This, combined with a future trade agreement, should encourage fellow businesses to look to the US market for export opportunities."

A fourth round of trade negotiations is continuing this week with the Government looking to agree a deal with the US which will ease trade restrictions for small businesses.

Government analysis shows a free trade agreement between the nations will provide a £3.4billion boost to the UK economy as the trade deal will increase transatlantic trade flows by £15.3billion.