When it comes to serving up steak pie or trifle there is nobody more qualified than Joyce Wright and her daughter Carole Stamp.

For the owners of the Copper Kettle restaurant in Accrington have now been delighting customers with their home-made cooking for 50 years.

The popular restaurant first opened its doors in January 1962, replacing an antique shop.

Carole, who started working at the restaurant on Warner Street when she was nine, said their longevity is down to hard work and their ‘very loyal customers’.

She said: "When we moved into the shop it was only intended to be for a short period. However a lifetime later, after a lot of hard work, a lot of laughter and hundreds of customers who have passed through our doors we are still here.

"Our premises were very different in the sixties. The room we now call the ‘little room’ was a typical sixties milk bar, with a high bar, high stools and a coffee machine constantly whirring in the background. We also sold Knickerbocker Glories in huge tall glasses and coffee in Pyrex cups.

"We could not and wouldn't have wanted to last all these years without our very loyal customers. They have supported us through the good times and the bad and I like to think we have done the same. We have all grown old together."

Over the years the Copper Kettle has changed considerably, with the exception of the menu which is filled with timeless favourites.

Carole, 59, said despite changes in times and tastes they have stayed true to their ideals and their family recipes.

She added: "Everything is made by myself or mum who, despite being well over her three score years and ten, still gets up three mornings a week to make her pies. I am sure she will go to her grave dreaming of steak pies. If I had a penny for every steak pie or sherry trifle we have made I would be a millionaire."

They still make fruit cobblers with home grown fruit using Joyce’s school recipe, and a college pudding which is a sponge pudding with mixed fruits, candied peel and mixed spices.

Copper Kettle will celebrate its 50th birthday on Friday, January 6.