A MYSTERY baker has become the first winner of a gingerbread competition that took place over the weekend and featured a celebrity judging panel.

The Horwich gingerbread house competition was held on Saturday afternoon at Horwich Community Centre.

It saw a quaint little gingerbread house win the first prize, but the identity of the baker remains a mystery after the cake was dropped off and left.

Makbul Patel, one of the judges and a former bake-off star, said the event, although low on numbers, went well and the winner deserved their success.

He said: “It was amazing. The winning gingerbread house was very intricate, well-constructed, and a lot of effort went into it, and it tasted lovely.

“The only thing is we don’t know who it belonged to because they weren’t there. It’s crazy, they just dropped it off and went.”

Not even a name or a picture of the baker is available, and now a plea for them to come forward has been made by the team.

As well as Makbul Patel, the judging panel included David Smart, the owner of Greenhalgh’s bakery and the Mayor of Horwich, Sue Denton.

It was the organised by Liv Turner-Allen, who wanted to raise money for Bolton Destitute Animal Shelter and Emmaus Food Bank.

After the event raised £250, Makbul said: “It was a good day, especially considering the weather was horrendous, so nobody would have wanted to be out, but it was good to be part of this for the first time.

“I was at an event in Coventry on the Wednesday before it, so I was tired, but I had promised to go and I’m glad I did.

“We just couldn’t tell who had made the winning creation, but we left a ribbon next to it and took some pictures.”

Organiser Liv said: “Bake Off is on at the moment, which people absolutely love, and at Christmas people love to bake, so I thought I’d join the two together.

“The most important thing is that all money goes back into local charities.”

The gingerbread house competition had a £2 entry fee and contestants were asked to fill out a form including their name, age and contact details, on the day.

A range of food and craft stalls were also on display to browse.

If you know who won, drop us an email to newsdesk@theboltonnews.co.uk