A BARNOLDSWICK councillor "whipped" up a recipe that saw him claim the top prize in a new pie competition.

Cllr David Whipp took first place in the inaugural World Meat Pie Championship held in Barnoldswick.

But, ironically, the Lancashire county councillor’s prize-winning pastry did not feature any meat at all.

"Well, I think we should call it the World Pie Championship," said Cllr Whipp, whose cheese and onion recipe was the only pie he entered in the contest.

"I'm a one-pie wonder," said Cllr Whipp, co-chairman of Barnoldswick Town Centre Action Group. “It was a fantastic day and it went surprisingly well for me."

But he added: "The pressure is on now, you can only go downwards from here. One or two gauntlets have been thrown down for next year.

"Judging by the huge success, and as long Barnoldswick Town Council and the Town Centre Action Group can agree, this event will be held again next year.

"There was a tremendous buzz about the town and lots of visitors from outside the area enjoyed the occasion with townsfolk.

“It was organised to celebrate Barnoldswick’s success in the Great British High Street Awards."

Experienced pie judge James Wilson, who organised the contest, said the standard of entries was fantastic.

He said: “We had three categories: meat, vegetarian and speciality. I’ve judged pie competitions for years and I have to say the standard of both the professional and amateur entries was fantastic.

“There were 54 entries in total and we are very grateful to the likes of Oddie’s who got into the spirit of things.

“We looked at the thickness of the pastry, the evenness of the bake and of course the taste of the filling.

“In the end it was a close call between two pies but our two vegetarian judges told me I had to try their favourite and I couldn’t disagree. It was gorgeous.”

Anyone interested in trying one of Cllr Whipp's cheese and onion pies can do so during the Vintage Fair being held at the Rainhall Centre on Saturday.

He will be cooking the pies to raise money for the Barnoldswick in Bloom cafe, which will start serving food from 11.30am. The Vintage Fair runs from 10am to 4pm.