The local businesses 'thrilled' to be part of the day in which the eyes of the nation were on Grimsby

Businesses in North East Lincolnshire have expressed their delight to be involved in the day in which the eyes of the nation were firmly on Grimsby.

As Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, headed to Grimsby to campaign in the area and take part in a Sky News special programme on Wednesday, local businesses stepped in to offer a helping hand for the large-scale event.

This came in the form of a welcoming space to conduct interviews, delicious food for hundreds of people, and beer, named fondly after one of the Sky News presenters.

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Situated in Grant Thorold Park in Grimsby's East Marsh, The Canopy Community Hub hosted the Sky News team as presenter Jayne Secker interviewed an array of guests from the area, from the owners of Nunny's Farm and Richard Askam of Projekt Renewables, to Government and Politics students from Franklin College.

Michelle Cook, who runs The Canopy, told Grimsby Live: "We were most excited to welcome first time voter Callum Smith, 18, and Government and Politics students from Franklin College who were extremely articulate in expressing their political opinions which hugely supports our aim within The Canopy to provide a platform for children’s and young people’s voices.

"We're in the process of providing a space for a youth debating team and hope yesterday provided those all important connections to take this forward and encourage our younger generation to listen to one another’s views and provide the skills to express their own.

"After all one of our present day youngsters may one day be running the country and who’s to say that person won’t be from the East Marsh of Grimsby? For The Canopy Kitchen we had fabulous exposure on national TV with many comments about our excellent coffee and cake from the Sky team as we fed them and their visitors throughout the day."

Barry Mundle, owner of the Waltham Kitchen deli on Cleethorpe Road, said he and his wife Kerry Meanwell were "absolutely thrilled" when Sky News contacted them to ask if they would provide the buffets for the Prime Minister and Keir Starmer, along with lunch bags for members of the audience at the special event.

He said: "We were approached by the Production Co-ordinator for Sky News late last week to provide lunch bags for the audience of their 'Battle for Number 10' debate. We provided 135 individual bags containing two halves of sandwich, a handmade sausage roll and water bottle. We provided various options - meat, fish, vegan and gluten free.

"Earlier this week he added two buffets for both the Prime Minister and Sir Keir Starmer and their respective teams. Everything was quite last minute and a lot of work has been done in the past few days making all the sausage rolls and vegan rolls, along with printing the individual labels with the Sky logo, bag contents and all the allergens, along with our contact details.

"We try to predominantly use local suppliers - Swales for freshly baked bread and our uncooked meats and the local markets for salad and vegetables - and this appealed to Sky when choosing a caterer. They wanted a local company that had a strong reputation for dealing with high-profile events at short notice.

"We previously catered for 'Dickinson's Real Deal' at the Town Hall and the film '3 Day Millionaire'. Eco-friendly and recyclable packaging was also a key element in their decision. We were absolutely thrilled to be part of such an exciting event for the town and hope everyone who attended enjoyed their food."

Grimsby brewery Docks Beers distributed 100 bespoke beer bottles to Grimsby Town Hall for the special event, which was aptly named 'Beth Rigbeer' after the presenter who grilled the two Number 10 candidates.

In a post to Facebook, the brewery wrote: When Sky News asked us to make a bespoke beer bottle for tonight’s Battle for Number 10 in Grimsby, of course we delivered. 100 bottles of Beth RigBeer delivered to Grimsby Town Hall this morning. PS We’re just here for the good beer."

With so many rolling into Grimsby, including the TV engineers, security teams and TV organisers and advisers, town centre businesses have had a welcome windfall.

Nic Till, owner of Riverhead Coffee on Victoria Street said the past few days had brought many more customers to her cafe. "It's been very good for business. We have had loads coming in for takeaway coffees and for lunches," she said.