Brothers Peter and Alex Mastrantuono are hoping folk will get a real taste for their latest venture - genuine Keighley mineral water.

Peter and Alex have started production at their new Royal Spring plant in Goulbourne Street and are aiming to supply their bottled water on a cash-and-carry basis to the public and local businesses.

The water comes from a borehole almost 300 feet below the bottling plant, and the brothers are delighted with its quality.

"We've been drinking it for the last five years and we think it's great," said Peter.

The brothers, who were born in Italy and came to Keighley in 1962, both have motor-trade backgrounds.

Peter, 44, who lives in Oakworth, now runs a small electrical wholesale business in Manchester, and Alex, 46, from Oakworth, had a garage on the Goulbourne Street site until a year ago.

Alex bought the former Royal Works site in 1989 as a development opportunity, but the brothers soon found an old borehole dating back to about 1863.

The borehole had been plugged with a log, and water was seeping around it.

"It is an artesian well and the water comes out under its own pressure. When we capped it, the water was jetting 15 or 20 feet into the air. We had it tested and found it was perfect for drinking.

"The analysis showed it was virtually identical to one of the biggest British producers of bottled mineral water, and in my opinion it is much better on mineral balance than the popular French imports," he said.

A new building to house the bottling plant was built over the borehole and the brothers continued monitoring the water quality.

New equipment has now been installed and production has started. They expect to take on at least two or three workers early in the New Year and expand the bottling plant.

The water comes originally from the Haworth and Oakworth area, and has filtered down through the layers of rock over the years.

Royal Spring can be contacted on (01535) 667990.