Imagine queuing for five hours for fish and chips.

That was the length of the line when a Ditton chippy fired up the fryers on a special trip to the Faroe Islands at the weekend.

While customers at Papa’s Barn are used to being served up award-winning cod from waters around the archipelago, the islanders themselves rarely get the chance to taste it as most of their fish is exported.

That changed when brothers Gavin and Craig Lewis from the London Road restaurant served up 7,500 portions for locals to enjoy.

The pair made the 800-mile trip north to the town of Klaksvik to feeds crowds at a fisherman’s festival, cooking 1.5 tonnes of fish in 18 hours.

Manager Gavin, 36, said: “Despite waiting for up to five hours everyone was smiling and happy and looking forward to their fish and chips by the time they got to the front of the line and they were well entertained with live music while they queued.

“We started work at 7am and were surprised to still be serving at 1am so everyone could get their food. ”

The Faroe Islands, owned by Denmark, are 200 miles north of Scotland and inhabited by twice as many sheep as people.

The Faroese became particularly fond of traditional fish and chips since the friendly British occupation during the Second World War. The whole event was paid for by JFK, a Faroese fishing fleet which catches cod used by Papa’s Barn and who also arranged a temporary shop and exported equipment for the Papa’s team to serve up with.

It comes after the restaurant was once again announced as a finalist in the 2017 National Fish and Chip Awards.

It will now compete with five other shortlisted takeaways to see who is London and south east England’s best.

It’s the fourth consecutive year they have received acclaim in the contest.