Bakery loved by celebs opens 'first of its kind' shop near football stadium

A much-loved bakery has opened a new store close to a football club. Bolton-based Carrs has launched its fourth store in the Middlebrook Retail Leisure Park in Horwich, next to the ground of Bolton Wanderers FC.

Fans have already been flocking to the site, which, in a rather confident move, has opened right next door to rival bakery Greggs.

On our visit this week we were not only able to pick up some of its brand new Wallace & Gromit themed pasties - which come with a specially made tangy chilli dip, marking the first of Carrs pasties to be accompanied by a sauce - but many of the cakes were also half price, as it was getting close to closing time.

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They had everything from custard slices and fruit scones with cream, to Biscoff donuts and rocky roads.

The new pasty - named the More Cheese, Ham & Chilli Jam Pasty - has been launched to mark the 30th anniversary of Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers.

But the store offers the full core range of pasties from Carrs, which counts celebrities including Sara Cox and Chris Evans among its customers.

Fans can also order online for click-and-collect from the Middlebrook store and on delivery platforms UberEats and JustEat.

Over the past 85 years, Carrs' delicious pastries have won the hearts of many Boltonians. The family-run bakery initially started as a tripe shop on Halliwell Road prior to the Second World War before attracting the attention of mill workers when it started selling freshly baked pies and pasties.

In 1960, the owners' children John, Bernard, David and Veronica all quit their successful careers to form a limited company and scale up production. Bolton Council gave the company a loan in 1975,