AN award winning baker is offering a gritter she’s dubbed her ‘hero’ a Christmas cake for helping her keep her business going during the recent snow.

Dianne Halliday, owner of Mallerstang based bakery Country Fare, said she will give the Sedbergh farmer who grits the roads between Garsdale, Mallerstang and Kirkby Stephen a Christmas cake as a reward for clearing the roads so lorries could arrive with supplies.

Mrs Halliday is supplying Harrods in London with Christmas cakes for the first time this year.

She feared she wouldn’t be able to make the next batch in time when the valley’s roads became blocked with a foot of snow.

“Christmas is our busiest time of the year and we’ve got another order from Harrods so I was starting to panic when the snow came down. But we’ve got the most amazing gritter - he’s been out in all weather gritting the roads four or five times a day starting at 5.30am. It’s meant my staff could get to work and we could get most of the ingredients in,” she said.

She’s now offering the man a reward of one of her Christmas cakes for all his hard work.

“I don’t know his name but I’ll give him a Christmas cake if someone can find out who he is. He's been a hero. I’m sure a lot of people would have just looked out of the window and thought the weather was just too bad but he’s kept going and deserves some praise.”