IT is clear that Worcester loves a doughnut — on its best ever week Guilt Trip in Lower Wick sold 2,000 with queues stretching down the road.

It's smaller sister shop in Friar Street was just as successful selling 1,500 doughnuts during the same week.

Now, the Guilt Trip team bake between 300 and 900 doughnuts a day for its shops in Worcester and Broadway as well as St Peter's Garden Centre and Sip in Pershore.

With Saturday being the start of The Children's Trust's National Doughnut Week we thought it would be a good idea to take a look behind the scenes.

It's Friday morning and already Kirstie Overton-Short is serving coffee to a couple of customers in the front of house.

While it is pretty calm in the cafe, through the doors to the kitchen is a hive of activity as staff dip, sprinkle and sugar coat their doughnuts.

The smell is incredible and it is a well run system with each member of the team tackling either the granola, Biscoff or, everyone's favourite, classic jam doughnuts.

They have a team of 22 mainly part time staff who begin making the doughnuts at 5.30am, sometimes earlier during the weekends.

Worcester News:

The first batch leaves Lower Wick at 8.30am for Friar Street and Broadway before warm doughnuts are put into the display cabinet in Lower Wick at 9.30am.

Staff will then begin prepping for the next day.

Since opening the shop in Friar Street on December 5, 2020 and the Lower Wick branch a week later, they have expanded their services despite being in the middle of a pandemic.

Worcester obviously loves a doughnut - but why?

Gareth Piper, area general manager, said: "I don't know why Worcester loves doughnuts but the city is very good at supporting independent businesses.

"People come to us not just for our doughnuts but for our coffee too.

"We do two things, coffee and doughnuts, so we have to do them really, really well."

Worcester News:

The business traded throughout lockdown offering a takeaway service and people took the opportunity to walk around the riverside, stopping off at Guilt Trip for a treat.

"We were absolutely crazy busy during the third lockdown.

"It was non-stop but it was great. We had queues going around the corner.

"We pride ourselves on our product and we think they're the best doughnuts."

There is a tasty future for Worcester's doughnut fans too with plans to expand the sitting in options and launching new products that aren't just doughnuts.

"It is a lot of work but we are very lucky to have a great young team."