PASTIE wars have definitely broken out in the wake of a major compliment for the town.

TripAdvisor rated Bolton’s bakeries Ye Olde Pastie Shoppe and Carr’s Pasties as the best two bakeries in Greater Manchester, prompting plenty of opinion about how we like our pies.

The famous old Churchgate shop where the Walsh family have been selling pies and pasties to their own secret recipe since 1898 draws fans from all over the country. And there are also die-hard fans for Carr’s and its Manchester Road headquarters in equal proportion.

Whatever is your favourite – and other bakeries were quickly nominated and thrown into the frame by local people – it’s just brilliant that two Bolton establishments are showing the rest of Greater Manchester how to make a pastie.

This brings business, visitors and satisfied customers to the town and gives it a reputation as the best in an important, lucrative field.