by Richard Ault

THE Hairy Bikers popped in for a snack at a Stoke bakery which has been baking the same coal oven-cooked bread for 130 years.

The two TV personalities – Si King and Dave Myers – are known as much for their bikes and beards as their culinary skills.

They have been filming their latest show, The Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain, since last October and stopped-off in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday to film the last show of the series, all about cooking in Staffordshire.

As part of their tour, the bikers rode to the London Road Bakehouse, in Stoke, to sample the oven-fresh bread.

Hairy Biker Dave, of Barrow-in-Furness, said: "We heard about the bakery while we were filming. It is one of the last places in Britain that uses a coal-fired oven to bake bread, and people were talking about how nice the bread is.

"So it made sense to call in. It is a fantastic place, the ovens are great. It is 130-years old and has been baking bread since then."

Si, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, said: "It's a good old fashioned baking shop. It's great."

As the Hairy Bikers pulled up in London Road, riding Triumph motorbikes, they were greeted by bakehouse owners Marie Thomas and Sue Pickering, who took over the business four years ago.

Hairy Biker fan Marie screamed in delight as the TV stars pulled up and leapt onto the back of Dave's Triumph. With Sue following suit by climbing up beside Si, the Hairy Bikers took the girls for a quick spin before returning to start filming.

Marie, aged 56, of May Bank, said: "They are really nice guys, really normal people.

"I'm a big fan of theirs. But I wasn't surprised when we got a phone call asking if we would mind if they filmed here. They have been going around the farmers' markets in the area and have heard about our bread.

"We are the last traditional coal oven bakery in the country and they wanted to try our bread."

Sue, aged 46, of Fenton, said: "The bakehouse has been here for over 100 years. It was a family business, run by the Marsh family, then the Thorleys. We are a bit of a departure, we took over four-and-a-half years ago.

"We have got customers in their 80s and 90s who have been coming all their lives. One lady is nearly 90 and she has never eaten any other bread – she even takes it on holiday with her."

The Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain will be aired on BBC2 in either August or September.

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Story filed in: News | Richard Ault