Rory Mellar, of Walesby, cooks up baking business idea during coronavirus lockdown

A 12-year-old who is baking and selling dog treats to raise money for the NHS has been nominated as the Advertiser’s Citizen Of The Week.

Rory Mellar, of Walesby, has raised more than £370 over the last fortnight after a night of research inspired him to create his own business idea.

The year seven Tuxford Academy student found himself researching things to do during lockdown, and baking and creating a business were two of the ideas on a list he stumbled across on the internet.

Over the following two weeks he would go on to bake batches of dog treats and sell them to his friends and family in the village to raise funds for front line workers.

His mother, Becca Mellar, said: “Making dog treats was one of the ideas and we have just got a new puppy, so straight away he said he was going to make dog treats.

“He was really enjoying it, and after we finished he said to me ‘mum, we should sell these’.

“He had also read on the list that creating a business was an idea, and he wanted to sell them to make money for the NHS.

“He sold them to friends and family, and people have put more orders in, but he has had to slow down on his baking because of his school work.”

Rory enjoyed baking so much, he even spent eight hours in the kitchen, cooking from 8am to 4pm.

Nickie Slignsby, a Walesby resident, heard about Rory’s fundraising activities and said he deserved to be nominated as the citizen of the week.