THEY could very well be the world’s smallest pasties.

Cooked up by Bolton’s Ye Olde Pastie Shoppe, the miniscule morsels were part of the quickest eat-a-thon the town has ever seen.

Traditionally, pie and pastie eating competitions see contestants gorge on as much food as they can in the quickest time.

The charity stunt, held yesterday lunchtime outside the famous shop in Churchgate, was designed to promote the British Red Cross’ fundraising week.

“We want to show people that they don’t have to do something big to raise money for our charity,” said fundraising manager Joanne Allott. “You don’t have to run a marathon or climb Mount Kilimanjaro, you can do something as simple as a mini-eat-a-thon, a cake sale or shake a bucket for an hour outside a supermarket.”

The pastie shop prepared three dozen of the tiny treats for the event.

Red Cross volunteers went head-to-head with pastie shop regulars in the eat-a-thon.

And it was volunteer Jackie Pickersgill who won the contest, eating three mini-pasties in just 19.76 seconds.

Pastie shop owner Marie Walsh said: “I think they are probably the smallest pasties in the world.

“You can’t make them any smaller because they’d have no filling inside.”

But the shop will not be selling the mini-morsels to the general public, as the puny pasties take four times as long to prepare.

The charity’s fundraising week takes place from May 1 to 8 this year.

The Red Cross is aiming to raise £1 million.

Last year, Bolton raised £35,360 during the fundraising week.

To find out how to join in, contact your local fundraiser on 0161 8888914 or visit redcross.org/redcrossweek