ALMONDBURY family butcher John Fawcett saved the day at the nearby Nosh restaurant after thieves struck.

They stole joints of beef and other food bought for Mother’s Day diners, only hours before the big event.

Ben Franco, restaurant proprietor, learned of the theft at 10am on Sunday, when his head chef came in asking where the beef had gone.

“I thought he was winding me up at first, but then we discovered the external food store had been kicked in and the roast beef, crispy duck and vanilla ice-cream had all been stolen.

“Someone somewhere was enjoying a good nosh-up at our expense.

“But we had 250 people booked in and the first diners were due at noon.”

Within 10 minutes, butcher John Fawcett, who has a shop in Northgate, just along the road from the restaurant, had been hauled out of bed to see if he could help out.

And at 11.30 enough beef was in the oven to feed the first hungry diners.

“We cook our beef rare so it was ready by about 12.20pm,” said Ben.

“John was a life saver. This is the advantage of using a small, local firm, the type which is under threat from the big supermarkets.

“I invited John and his family for lunch as a thank-you. Guess what he had? Roast beef.”