Chippenham baker named Poundland Birthday Bake Off Winner

Jane Asher judges Poundland competition in celebration of retailer's 25th Anniversary

Lydia Houghton, aged 43 from Chippenham has been crowned a Poundland Birthday Bake Off winner by actress and well-known baker Jane Asher, this week.

The Birthday Bake Off competition was launched by Poundland in September for customers to bake a cake to celebrate the retailer's 25th Anniversary this year.

This year marks 25 years since Poundland opened its very first store. In that time the retailer has become a familiar and much loved feature on high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across the country and transformed the way Britain shops.

Lydia won the competition having baked a piggy bank with pound coins spilling from the cake.

She commented on the win, 'I'm thrilled that I won the competition. I was worried the cake wouldn't turn out how I had envisaged, but it baked better than I had hoped for.'

'As a regular customer at Poundland and owner of many of the Jane Asher bakeware products, I was so excited to meet Jane in person - it has been a wonderful day!'

In addition to meeting Jane Asher, Lydia also received a £1,000 cheque from the discount retailer.

Judging the competition, Jane praised Lydia's creativity and baking skills, saying, 'It was such fun judging the cake competition and I was genuinely amazed at the number of entries and their inventiveness and skill. Our Poundland customers are clearly very talented in cake-making and design - and often demonstrate a terrific sense of humour!'

'I found it almost impossible to choose a winner, but that cute little pig did charm me enormously, and the way the pound sign went through the inside of the cake was brilliant: I like to think it represents the way we offer amazing value all through our stores'.

Poundland's exclusive Jane Asher bakeware range includes over 95 items including measuring jugs, mini scales, cake tins, baking accessories, sprinkles and more, all at Poundland's amazing £1 price point. And for customers who want to bake something special this Christmas, Jane has also introduced a range of festive cake toppers, cookie cutters and chocolate moulds into the range.

Jim McCarthy, CEO of Poundland commented, 'We had countless entries into our baking competition to meet Jane, which just goes to show how loved she is in the baking world. It was great to see the baking creations which were made in honour of our 25th Anniversary, and I'd like to thank everyone who took part.'

'Poundland's Jane Asher bakeware range has received an extremely positive reaction on the high street. Our £1 price point means that everyone can get involved in baking cakes, pies and tarts for a fraction of the usual price - for under £10 you'll be ready to bake with Poundland, whether you're a novice or an expert!'

Click here to shop the Jane Asher's Kitchen bakeware range online

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