THERE were queues round the block as a much loved bakery opened early for hot cross bun lovers.

In what has become something of a tradition in Brighton on Good Friday, scores of people, young and old, formed an orderly line outside Ravens Bakery in Ditchling Road.

The bakery sells thousands of buns every year with customers waiting patiently for more than half an hour to get their hands on the sweet, sugary treats.

Lynn Starkey, who has been baking at the family business for three years, said: “The buns are selling really well, it’s ridiculously busy but it always is.

“We opened at half past six this morning, we’re not supposed to open until half past seven but there was a little man standing in the doorstep and I couldn’t leave him there for an hour.

“So I opened, because I said I’d rather have a trickle than a tsunami. But then we got a tsunami anyway.

“Unfortunately we can’t keep up with demand and they’re so hot they’re squishing. So now we’re just trying to hang around so they can cool a little bit before we bag them up and sell them."

She added: "People appear to be quite happy to queue, and it’s a lovely day. It could be worse, it could be pouring with rain.

“We’ll sell literally thousands of buns today. On Thursday we had 900 on order and we sold more than that over the counter."

The recipe is a closely guarded secret which sees people return year after year.

Jan Eaton was tantalisingly close to the counter when she stopped to chat to us.

She said: “I’ve been waiting quite a while now, probably about half an hour. But this is the first time I’ve actually waited in the queue. I worked here for nine years.

“Being in the queue is just as much fun though, it’s very sociable, and I thought it was about time I came.”

Fiona Newman has been queuing outside Ravens every Good Friday since moving to the area six year ago.

Her five year old son, Dan, could not contain his excitement as he waited outside in the sunshine.

He said: “We’re going to eat our buns in the park, but it’s OK to wait because we’ve already had breakfast."