A Penryn man, who swapped bricklaying for baking, has presented his award-winning novelty lifeboat cake to the Falmouth branch of the charity that saves lives at sea.

Dave Mason was forced to quit his job in the building trade last year following an arm injury and he has now turned his culinary hobby, started a little over a decade ago, into a full time career.

After taking silver at the UK’s most prestigious cake-baking event “Cake International” earlier this month, the 46-year-old decided to share his latest maritime-themed creation with the volunteers at the Falmouth RNLI – although it was not actually his idea.

“It was one of my friends on Facebook,” Dave said, “she’s a big thing in the cake world and she actually contacted them first and they put it on their page.”

The team at the Falmouth RNLI were “over the moon” to receive Dave’s cake, he said, and will be displaying it at their shop on Tinners Walk.

Adding: “It will be alright until the summer when the sun starts hitting it and then it won’t be any good. But for a little while, it will be okay.”

Dave is looking ahead to the next instalment of Cake International, at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre in November, when he hopes to improve on this year’s medal.

“I’ve just got to decide what cake to make next,” he said.