HELENSBURGH baker and business owner Melanie Andrews has been given an MBE in the New Year honours list.

Melanie, 52, the owner of the Craigard Tearoom in Sinclair Street, was chosen for the accolade 'for services to baking and to the community in Helensburgh'.

Her community work includes the creation of a tourism booklet and visitor map for Helensburgh – the second of which she personally funded – while she's also one of the founding directors of the 'Helensburgh Heroes' initiative, for which she helped organise the recording of a community cover version of the David Bowie song 'Heroes' back in 2009.

Melanie was also one of the main movers, along with Iain and Sephton MacQuire, behind the resurrection of the Helensburgh Highland Games in 2008 after a gap of 51 years.

A self-taught baker, Melanie started in business at the age of just 21, and in 2009 she launched and personally funded the Scottish Baking Awards, which she continues to regulate and monitor.

In November we reported on her plans to expand the awards by setting up the first ever Spanish Baking Awards scheme.

Melanie told the Advertiser: “It's been very difficult to keep the award a secret – I couldn't even tell my family.

“My first thought was 'who on earth nominated me?', and my second was 'what have I done?'.

“And then I thought about it, and I suppose, when you put it all together, I've done my bit.

“Helensburgh is my home town. I'm passionate about it, and when I'm passionate about something I throw myself into it and I'll get anything done.”

* More on Melanie's MBE in the next issue of the Advertiser - on sale on Thursday, January 5.