A HAMPSHIRE pub has become one of the first in the country to offer a gluten free menu.

The Horse and Jockey in Curbridge near Botley boasts a totally gluten free menu, offering coeliacs a safe place to eat without fear of being fed wheat, barley or rye that could make them seriously ill.

Customers dining at the pub can have complete trust in the food as landlady Helen Hill and her son Daniel, who is head chef, are both sufferers from the condition.

Coeliac disease is not an allergy, it is an hereditary condition that makes the body produce antibodies that attack its own tissues.

Since being diagnosed five years ago, Helen found it impossible to trust restaurants and often preferred to eat in rather than take the risk. Just a slice of ordinary bread can make sufferers violently ill so Helen felt she could only trust other coeliacs to cook her a meal.

So when she took over The Horse and Jockey in October, Helen and her son Daniel saw it as a great opportunity to provide a gluten free menu. Now they offer a wide variety of meals including gluten-free fish and chips and are attracting customers from all over the country.

Helen said: "I am a coeliac and so is Daniel and both of us would only totally trust another coeliac to give us a meal. This is no gimmick as for my family and people like us it is very serious.

"Although many pubs and restaurants have excellent traceability of the foods and its origins there is no guarantee that gluten-free products are cooked in separate oils or with separate utensils.

"Whenever we go out for a meal it is a real problem so most of the time we do not bother but now we serve about 20 customers a week who can eat with us without worrying .

"We have even had customers coming from as far away as Sussex because they have heard we can feed them without poisoning them."