THIS year, we are lucky enough to have two contestants representing Sussex in the Great British Bake Off - Lottie Bedlow from Littlehampton and Linda from Bexhill.

With both bakers impressing judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and securing their spots in week four of the competition, we decided to find out a bit more about each of the the pair in turn.

The Argus:

Linda, 61, from Bexhill

Linda from Bexhill has already earned a loyal following for her beaming smiles in the Bake Off tent.

A montage of the 61-year-old "being deliriously happy" on the show has been viewed almost 20,000 times on Twitter.

And there was plenty to be positive about for Linda last week as she earned the top spot in the technical challenge with her rainbow-coloured bagels.

As we were introduced to Linda in a short video clip shot at her Sussex home, every Bake Off fan's eyes quickly turned green.

The footage showed her impressively maintained garden, as well as a private bar built into her shed where she and her partner husband like to enjoy a refreshing post-gardening pint.

Linda discovered her love of baking during regular visits to her aunt's dairy farm as a child.

At the farm, which is just down the road from her home, she would help milk the cows the carry her freshly-filled bucket of milk into the nearby kitchen.

There, her aunt taught her to bake cakes which were, more often than not, topped with a rich, creamy icing.

Even now, fresh fruit from her aunt's farm remains Linda's not-so-secret ingredient.

And there is a story behind many of her bakes.

During biscuit week, she revealed the heart-warming tale behind her Florentine recipe.

Linda said: "My florentines are one of my sister's favourite biscuits.

"She had a really, really sweet tooth and, when we were kids and my mum turned her back, I used to quickly eat her dinner so she could get to her pudding more quickly."

Alongside her love for gardening, which she says has plenty of positive effects on her wellbeing, Linda is also partial to popping to Bexhill beach for a spot of fishing - often landing mackerel and mullet from the pebbles.