A VINEYARD near Itchen Stoke was one of several across Hampshire to take action against frost last weekend.

Clear skies saw temperatures plummet which wreck the vine shoots on which this year’s harvest of grapes will grow.

These photos were taken in the early hours of Saturday. The images may be beautiful but they are wine producers’ worst fear. The Hampshire soil may be identical to that of Champagne in France but the English climate is far less predictable.

So ten lighters were on standby to be alerted by a call out at 2am. It took them 90 minutes to light 450 candles to keep the temperatures above freezing.

Then as the sun came up a different team went out to extinguish the candles that hadn’t burnt out to be used on another night. They were rewarded with a bottle of wine.

Zam Baring, chief executive of The Grange Hampshire, said: “Frosty nights are all about horrible judgement calls. How cold is it going to be getting in two to three hours’ time? How much damage will be done to the buds if we don’t light the candles? And, if we do light the candles tonight, will we have enough left for what is coming down the line tomorrow night, the night after or even next week? It is undeniably a beautiful sight too."

Last May frost hit the yield on the previous year by 60 per cent.