A CHILDMINDER from Newton-le-Willows has won a national cookery competition with the help of the toddlers and babies in her care.

Louise Kinnaird, 34, owner of Caterpillar Childminder, scooped the £2,000 first prize in a the Children's Food Trust's BIG Cookathon 2015.

The children, aged from 10 months to three, helped with washing and chopping ingredients for the official speedy biryani recipe.

Louise, who has been running her child minding service for the past three years, was selected from thousands of entrants, including schools, clubs and families.

Judges were impressed that Louise was encouraging children of such a young age to get involved with cooking.

She said she put the prize money towards gaining the St Helens Council's healthy early years food award.

She said: "This is so exciting. I already prepare all of the children's meals from scratch but now I can do more training and buy more equipment for the children to do more cooking activities. They love it when we visit allotments, pick fruit and vegetables and then bring them back to cook."

Linda Cregan, chief executive at the Children's Food Trust, said: "This year's BIG Cookathon has been a massive success. Schools, clubs and families all over the country took up the challenge to show that children of all ages and abilities can cook healthy meals from scratch. Learning basic cookery skills at an early age can have a positive impact that lasts a lifetime.

"We're so thrilled that Caterpillar Childminder has won £2,000 to continue with the great work they are doing to enable children to cook and eat healthy meals."

To find out more about the BIG Cookathon visit letsgetcookingathome.org.uk/bigcookathon.