Lodge Farm Cafe - off the A17 at Holbeach - delighted to be named Truck Stop of the Year

The team behind a popular cafe is over the moon to have won a national title.

Lodge Farm Cafe in Holbeach has been named the small Truck Stop of the Year after being nominated by grateful customers and being visited by a ‘secret judge’.

Owners Susan Dunn and Rebecca Chandler have built up the much-loved cafe since purchasing the Washway Road site 12 years ago.

They were presented with the award by editor of Truckstop News Pip Dunn last week.

Mrs Dunn said: “We are extremely happy and pleased to have won.

“We have a good team of staff and without them we would not have won the award.

“Our food is traditional and cooked to order - there is nothing sitting under hot lamp.

“We also like to have a chat as well. Sometimes we are the only people our customers see all day. When they have been out on the road all day, they like to come in and have a chat and some banter or meet up with friends in the area.

“We like to think that it is a traditional cafe.

“It is an honour to have been nominated.”

Lodge Farm beat off competition from 30 other stops across the country to scoop the title.

Mrs Dunn said: “The staff had no idea about the judging but everything they did was right.”

Calls have been made recently for more lorry parks in the area to serve drivers - but Mrs Dunn is keen to stress that there are facilities for truckers to use.

Lodge Farm is open seven days a week and also provides toilets and showers.

Mrs Dunn also said that another challenge is companies not paying for parking.

She said: “There has been a lot in the paper recently about there not being places for drivers to stop and park.

“There are places out there. People need to know where we are.”