A flour firm with a Maldon mill is celebrating after scooping two national food industry awards for helping to keep the country supplied during the pandemic.

Carr's Flour, which has a mill at Fullbridge Quay, won the awards in the prestigious Food Manufacturer Excellence Awards 2021. One award - the Ingredients Manufacturing Company of the Year - saw the judges speaking about how Carr's Flour Mills' staff worked tirelessly to help supply food manufacturers right across the UK.

A spokesperson for the company said: " The win of these awards for Carr's Flour can be attributed to the huge commitment and dedication of all the staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This was at a time when flour was in massive shortage, due to unprecedented consumer demand during national lockdown.

"Only emergency workers and designated key workers were going to work but along with the whole milling industry, the entire Carr's Flour team kept on milling, kept on producing flour. There were huge personal sacrifices being made by employees separated from their families, working incredibly long hours and adapting their jobs.

"The awards can be quite simply reflected back to the fantastic people at Carr's Flour. Each and every person helped win these awards and it is wonderful to get the recognition they deserve from Food Manufacture."

A second award, The Food Manufacture Site Team of the Year, was won by the firm's Silloth mill in Wigton, Cumbria, for the extraordinary work of the employees during the Covid-19 crisis. They expanded the retail flour production, invested in automation and new packing lines.