A shopper walked away with a tray of goodies when she became a bakery's 50,000th customer.

When Milligans realised it was going to welcome its landmark customer ahead of schedule at The Bridges shopping centre, in Sunderland, the firm decided to celebrate.

Manager Anne Taylor prepared a tray filled with a selection of the baker's most popular items and when the till registered the 50,000th sale, she handed it over.

The recipient was Daphne Naisbitt, of South Hylton, who calls into the bakery every time she goes into town.

She said: "All the family likes the food from the shop, whether it's their buns, pies, cakes or sandwiches. It was a great surprise to get a whole tray full of favourites."

The shop at The Bridges is one of 42 run in the North-East by Milligans, a family-run business set up in 1946.

Managing director Stephen Milligan said yesterday: "We have always had a strong presence in Sunderland and I was delighted when we got the opportunity last year to open up a unit in The Bridges, because it's a shopping centre growing in popularity all the time.

"Getting our 50,000 customers ahead of schedule gives us a great boost."