STAFF at Prima Bakeries, near Redruth, celebrated in style as their ninth birthday coincided with their busiest week ever.

With the late summer sunshine bringing a welcome surge of holidaymakers to Cornwall, the bakery has been working around the clock to keep up with demand for its pasties, bread and other sweet and savoury lines.

Managing director Mark Norton, said: “The August bank holiday was our busiest time ever and I am very proud of the Prima team who have all worked so hard. All parts of our business have seen record demand, although our Cornish pasties in particular have been selling at unprecedented levels.

“The investment we’ve made in our staff and equipment over the last couple of years made sure we were ready for this summer’s extraordinary demand. Everyone in the business has also put in a massive effort to make sure that quality standards don’t fall as we get bigger and busier. I believe this is one of the main reasons why so many of our customers stay with us.”

To mark the occasion, staff were treated to a giant pasty-shaped birthday sponge cake along with a giant Cornish pasty, equivalent to the size of nine of Prima’s large Cornish pasties.

In its nine years under the current ownership, Prima Bakeries’ business has grown six-fold in value to become one of the top 10 pasty makers in Cornwall.

Staff numbers have swelled from 19 to 85, and a fleet of 13 vans (compared to the original 3) deliver across the county and beyond, six days a week.

People can buy Prima Bakeries’ award-winning products direct from the shop sitting alongside the bakery just off the A30 at Scorrier, or from the 500 or so independent shops and cafes they supply around the county.