A TIP-TOP crop of asparagus has come three weeks early thanks to a mild winter.

The spears shot up in mid-April, prompting farmer Charlie Gee to start selling early at Medley Manor Farm in Binsey Lane, Oxford.

The farmer, who planted four acres of the crop five years ago, said he expected the harvest to last until the middle of June.

He said: “It still tastes just as good as it normally does. There have been no big frosts so it has grown well.”

A bunch of spears costs £4.50 and the farm is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6.30pm.