KENT fruit grower Peter Vinson could find his strawberries being the first ever grown in space.

The US space agency NASA is exploring the possibility of growing crops aboard space ships for the manned mission to Mars in 2020.

And because of the length of the trip - likely to be up to three years - scientists want the astronauts aboard the space station to be self-sufficient.

The strawberries grown by Mr Vinson, from Faversham, are among those recommended to NASA for trials in simulated outer space conditions. The 59-year-old said: "Mine are a variety which develop well under relatively low light conditions.

"I have a colleague in the US and we have exchanged varieties and then we have jointly recommended these to NASA."

Mr Vinson, 59, is chairman of Edward Vinson Ltd, a family-owned fruit growing company based at Ewell Farm in Graveney Road. It has been in existence for 100 years and is one of the major fruit growers in the area.

But it could be a long time, if at all, before the company embarks on the celestial leg of its story.

"It could be a quarter of a century away before it happens and then I might not be around to see it," Mr Vinson admitted.

"So it's hard to get that excited about it - it's a bit of fun really at the moment. We have a lot of hurdles to jump before we get there."