NORTH Yorkshire fine food company Lewis and Cooper’s has signed a contract to stock Selfridges with its hand-made luxury fruit cakes in the run up to Christmas.

Hundreds of Lewis and Cooper's award-winning cakes will be on sale in Selfridges stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Elizabeth Hastrop, Selfridges’ fresh food buyer, said the cakes, which include iced and gluten-free varieties, had gone down well at the firm's Christmas press day, held last month, where Selfridges’ festive offering was pored over by hundreds of journalists.

The department store opened its Christmas shop on August 2, arguing previous sales had shown that some customers, particularly those from overseas, started buying for Christmas as early as August.

Last year Lewis and Cooper made more than 31,000 fruit cakes and 44,000 plum puddings in its kitchens in Northallerton, where an eight-strong team work flat out all year round to keep up with demand for the range.

It already wholesales many of its own-label produce to delis, farm shops and restaurants across the country, including Harvey Nichols, English Heritage, The National Trust and Lakeland.

Linda Walters, Lewis and Cooper's sales development manager, said: “I’m very proud that such a prestigious retailer as Selfridges has recognised the quality of our made-in-Yorkshire cakes.”