British Pie Awards: Wensleydale lamb and potato entry wins top prize

Victorious pie maker Lydia Sunter said she was thrilled to win

A savoury pie filled with minted Wensleydale lamb and potato has been crowned as the supreme champion of the 16th British Pie Awards.

Hundreds of bakers vied for the top prize in the Leicestershire town known for its pork pies, Melton Mowbray.

The winning pie, made by Middleton-In-Teesdale Fish & Chip Shop, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, was crowned on Friday.

About 160 judges had their say on who should win the top prize.

The awards, which are a national celebration of British Pies in all their varieties, have been running since 2009

Hundreds of pies featuring vegan, dessert and the traditional pork fillings were sampled during the competition on Wednesday.

Winners were awarded from 24 different categories, including a new fusion pie class.

Herlinda Heras, from San Francisco, said it was her 10th year judging at the national competition

The judges came from around the world, including TV chef Herlinda Heras, who had flown from San Francisco in the US specifically for the event.

The winning entry was described as a "come eat me pie", with one judge saying the "pastry is a poem".

The pie was also the winner of the best lamb pie class category

Lydia Sunter, who made the pie, has been making her own pies for the last 12 years for her fish and chip shop.

"I'm very thrilled, very shocked and quite emotional," she said.

"I still can't believe it. We've been sending pies to the British pie awards since 2016.

"We've won several awards over those years and now we've won the supreme champion."

The category with the most entries this year was in the beef and alcohol class with 91 participants. The vegan class had 43 entries, followed by the new fusion pie class at 26.