Maureen earns her crust at Oddie's Bakery with half a century service

Mrs Maureen Turner, the current health and hygiene manager at Oddie's Bakery, has notched up 50 years with the firm, which has outlets in Burnley and Pendle.

Long service awards are not uncommon at Oddie’s – nearly a quarter of the current work force has served more than 20 years – but Maureen's milestone has only previously been achieved by members of the Oddie family and Mr Willie Rushton, who used to be in charge of pastry production back in the 1970s.

Director Lara Oddie said: "It’s been a family affair for Maureen too, her sister, Anne Starkie, worked for 45 years in the bakery before her retirement and sons Mark and Paul have both done stints at Oddie’s during their student holidays.

"Having started as a sales assistant in the shops, Maureen is now responsible for training staff in basic food hygiene and manual handling, creating systems and procedures for safe food production in the shops, and ensuring that properties are maintained to a high standard.

"It’s something that she is clearly good at as all Oddie’s shops currently achieve the highest five star rating as awarded by the local Environmental Health officials."