AN acclaimed baker is having her cake and eating it by moving to south Shropshire.

English cake designer and sugar craft artist Lindy Smith has recently moved back to south Shropshire, bringing her unique and internationally known cake business with her.

She now lives and works just outside Craven Arms.

As well as designing the most intricate and exquisite of cakes and cookies, Lindy is a specialist author with books on the subject, having sold more than half a million of them and becoming a number one best seller on Amazon.

Lindy has just won the ‘Best Pastry Sweets Book in the UK' award at the annual Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for 2014, for her most recent publication ‘Creative Colour for Cake Decorating'.

These awards are seen by many as the Oscars of the food industry and this accolade adds to an already impressive list of achievements since this former Chartered Surveyor first started designing cakes in her own kitchen in 1997.

"I spent a very happy childhood growing up in the Shropshire countryside and went to school in Shrewsbury,” said Lindy.

“Throughout my time in Leicester, London and Buckinghamshire, I have never forgotten how beautiful the county is.

“For my husband Graham and me, returning and relocating our business in Shropshire is an important and exciting life choice."

As well as creating cake designs, sugar craft artistry and writing, Lindy is frequently invited to share her skills and knowledge through event appearances and demonstrations in other countries around the world, but ‘keeping it local' is also important.

"I have already successfully organised a number of local cake decorating workshops, with the next one being in Richards Castle on Friday May 9," said Lindy.

"I teach everyone from absolute beginners to professionals. No-one ever knows everything and classes are a fantastic way to learn skills and meet like-minded people.

"I would like to teach maybe twice a month in Shropshire and the surrounding counties and hope to work closely with local colleges and cookery schools in the area."