A NORTH Yorkshire chippy could soon by serving up Britain's most traditional meal to residents in China after becoming a major phenomena among tourists from the worlds most populated country.

Scotts Fish and Chips at Bilbrough Top, on the A64 near York has become a must-visit destination for Chinese holidaymakers even translating its menu specially for them.

Visiting a chippy in the UK became popular after Chinese President Xi Jinping was treated to fish and chips by the former British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015.

Now Scotts' owner Tony Webster has agreed a deal in principle with a consortium of Chinese businessmen to open in partnership an 'authentic' Scotts in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan.

He teamed up with Chinese national Will Zhuang, who manages Chinese social media for the tourism organisation Visit York to help promote his venue to Chinese tour groups planning UK visits.

The marketing strategy saw Scotts launch a Chinese website on Weibo, using the Wechat messaging app because Facebook and Twitter are banned in China. The menu has been translated into Mandarin and Cantonese, which can be downloaded on smartphones and tablets.

Tony said: "In 2017 we had very few Chinese customers, but thanks to a focused marketing strategy a trickle turned into a flood which attracted worldwide media attention.The publicity has been phenomenal resulting in Scotts becoming a household name here and abroad.

"On the back of this I was approached by a consortium of Chinese businessmen keen to recreate Scotts in Chengdu. I’ve now agreed in principle to work in partnership with them, which will see the Scotts brand opening in this city of 7.5 million people. This is an incredibly exciting prospect. Later this year, if all goes to plan, Chinese tourists could be tucking into fish and chips at Scotts in North Yorkshire, while at the same time western tourists could be enjoying traditional fish and chips in southern China."