Today marks four years since Mary Berry reopened a community-run shop which was burgled and then set fire to.

The baking queen officially reopened the Hughenden Valley Community Shop, in Coombe Lane, on March 5, 2017, exactly a year after the tragic incident.

More than 500 people turned out to see the former Penn resident open the shop, which is run almost entirely by volunteers.

In March 2016, callous thieves stole frozen food, sandwiches and washing powder from the shop, before it was set alight.

The shop, which was housed in a single-storey portable building, suffered extensive damage.

At the time, manager Louise Jones said she was alerted to the fire by a volunteer who had arrived to open the store and saw “smoke pouring out of the door”, adding that the attack felt “personal”.

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She also called on the community to help them rebuild the shop, and said it provided a “lifeline” for elderly residents.

Bucks Free Press: PICTURED: The shop after it was destroyed in 2016PICTURED: The shop after it was destroyed in 2016

It took just under a year to transport sections of the building back to Hughenden so the shop could be rebuilt, and Ms Jones had to go through two rounds of planning to get relevant permissions for the new building.

Speaking after the opening of the store, she told the BFP how she managed to get the former Bake Off star on board.

Bucks Free Press: Mary Berry with Louise JonesMary Berry with Louise Jones

She said: “We stock Mary’s products and thought I would email her to see if she wanted to come along and open the shop, and she said she and her husband would be delighted to.

“She was very supportive and really lovely.

“She was shocked to hear what had happened and said she felt sad for us.”