A baking contest in the North East of England was rudely interrupted when a hungry Labrador decided to tuck into the competition. Photographic evidence revealed that Violet, a black Lab owned by the former chair of Northumberland’s Warkworth Show, had jumped up on the table and eaten the lemon drizzle cake from under the judges' noses. 

While there were no direct witnesses to Violet’s thievery, she left behind crucial evidence that was later captured by investigators. While there was little initially to tie her to the crime, the caper came unstuck after judges realised that there were a pair of telling, muddy paw prints directly in front of the savaged sponge. Violet had been caught brown-handed. 

However, even though a whole corner of the cake had been on the receiving end of a serious chewing, the cake was incredibly still eligible for competition. Even though it was the only cake that had proved too much for Violet to resist, the BBC report that it “failed to win anything,” providing perhaps the most damning indictment of the dog’s taste to date. 

The show’s spokesperson Derek Conway revealed that their policy has always been to encourage exhibitors to place their cake entries in a marquee prior to competition, though this approach may have to be revisited in light of this latest incident. Relaying the events of the day to a reporters, Conway revealed: 

"It was around 08:00 and everyone was frantically setting up stalls and Violet managed to slip her owner's attention and the smells of warm cake proved just too much to resist."

However, he also added that 14-month-old Violet was normally “very well-behaved” and that her owner was very strict when it comes to snacking, on cakes or otherwise. 

Even though the incident could have undoubtedly cast a shadow over proceedings, Conway confessed that competitors had all been able to see the funny side. As he put it, "This was the funniest event of the day and we adore Violet - I think she should be made an honorary judge." Given that she opted for the cake that didn’t win anything, that accolade may have to wait.

A baking contest in the North East of England was rudely interrupted when a hungry Labrador decided to tuck into the competition. Photographic evidence revealed that Violet, a black Lab owned by the former chair of Northumberland’s Warkworth Show, had jumped up on the table and eaten the lemon drizzle cake from under the judges' noses. 

While there were no direct witnesses to Violet’s thievery, she left behind crucial evidence that was later captured by investigators. While there was little initially to tie her to the crime, the caper came unstuck after judges realised that there were a pair of telling, muddy paw prints directly in front of the savaged sponge. Violet had been caught brown-handed. 

However, even though a whole corner of the cake had been on the receiving end of a serious chewing, the cake was incredibly still eligible for competition. Even though it was the only cake that had proved too much for Violet to resist, the BBC report that it “failed to win anything,” providing perhaps the most damning indictment of the dog’s taste to date. 

The show’s spokesperson Derek Conway revealed that their policy has always been to encourage exhibitors to place their cake entries in a marquee prior to competition, though this approach may have to be revisited in light of this latest incident. Relaying the events of the day to a reporters, Conway revealed: 

"It was around 08:00 and everyone was frantically setting up stalls and Violet managed to slip her owner's attention and the smells of warm cake proved just too much to resist."

However, he also added that 14-month-old Violet was normally “very well-behaved” and that her owner was very strict when it comes to snacking, on cakes or otherwise. 

Even though the incident could have undoubtedly cast a shadow over proceedings, Conway confessed that competitors had all been able to see the funny side. As he put it, "This was the funniest event of the day and we adore Violet - I think she should be made an honorary judge." Given that she opted for the cake that didn’t win anything, that accolade may have to wait.