THE first-ever gingerbread house competition is taking place this year in the borough, with a celebrity judge on the panel.

Horwich Gingerbread House Competition will take place on Saturday, December 4, 11-3pm, at Horwich Community Centre.

Plans are in place for all proceeds from the event to be donated to two local charities, Bolton Destitute Animal Shelter and Emmaus Food Bank.

The idea is that individuals bake and design a gingerbread house, which is then put forward to a panel of judges, who will decide on their winners.

Winners will be awarded with ribbon rosettes and trophies and there will be three competition categories; 10 and under, 11 to 15 years and adults, 16 plus.

The judging panel will include Great British Bake Off contestant, Makbul Patel, alongside David Smart ,the owner of Greenhalgh's and the final judge will be either the Horwich Mayor or the Deputy Mayor.

Liv Turner-Allen, the organiser of the gingerbread house competition, said she wants people to have some fun at the same time as raising money for local charities.

She said: “There are a lot of Christmas fairs that come around and a lot are raising money for charity but I wanted something that people could take part in.

“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 competition is something that whole families could get involved in, it’s quite a nice activity and a really great way for people to get into the Christmas spirit.

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

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

At the competition there will also be a range of food and craft stalls to browse.