Two rare Blue Violet damson trees have been discovered in an orchard, Crothwaite, near Kendall, in the Lake District.

The trees were discovered by Mary Harkness, the chairman of the South Lakeland Orchard Group, and are among six known Blue Violet Damson trees left in the UK.

Blue Violet damsons are unique because they can be eaten raw, as opposed to ordinary damsons which have to be cooked to bring out their sweetness. They are also easier to pick, as they can be shaken out of the tree when they are ripe, and they ripen earlier, in August.

Henry Noblett, of the Royal Horticultural Society, told the BBC that there had been a search for the fruit in the area ten years ago, after it emerged that it had been grown in Cumbria as recently as the 1930s.

“The reason we did not find anything is that we were searching during the normal damson season in September when we should have been looking in early August,” he said.

“This is a very important discovery as there is a real danger that it might die out.”

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