A NATIONAL bakery chain has followed in the footsteps of Newcastle-based Greggs after introducing 100 per cent vegan bread and rolls.

Scarborough-based Cooplands, which has more than 160 shops and 12 cafés across the UK, said it was now the "first high street" bakery to offer an unrivalled vegan range.

Earlier this year, Greggs released its spin-off vegan sausage roll in response to a rise in the number of consumers wanting a meat-free offering.

Made with Quorn, Greggs later confirmed the vegan sausage roll had become a sell-out success as profits, for their sale looked high for the firm.

Today, Cooplands chief executive officer, Belinda Youngs said: "At Cooplands we put our customers’ needs at the heart of our bakery operations.

"We know that many shoppers want to be really sure that the bread products that they are buying are 100 per cent vegan and that’s why we are delighted to be the first high street bakery to be able to offer this to all our customers every day.”

The 100 per cent vegan range will be produced from Cooplands' three existing bakery sites in Scarborough, Durham and Hull, before being delivered across its network of stores each morning.