A GREEN-BASED catering business has hit the ground running.

The Bay Trees is a solar powered, gourmet burger van with its environmental focus at the heart of its success - and its burgers!

The business, which was born out of lockdown, is ran by Hexham locals Ashley Yelding and Martin Smith after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic saw their jobs in hospitality shut down.

“We wanted the project to be as green as possible”, said Ashley. “And on top of that, we wanted to use local produce to provide gourmet food to all the little towns that don’t really get many catering vans going there.”

The friends renovated an old Mercedes Sprinter during lockdown which now tours Haydon Bridge, Allendale, Newbrough, Corbridge and Hexham weekly.

He added: “It was about adapting and evolving, but something really good came out of it and we’re really proud of The Bay Trees. Everyone’s saying they love what we’re doing and they love the van and how resourceful we’ve been. We were doing it on a budget so were trying to upcycle anything we could.”

The van is now expanding its reach and has already been booked for weddings and events.

Ashley added: “We know this industry can be very wasteful, so we wanted to be as resourceful and use as much of the produce as possible and local produce. And off setting our carbon is just adding to that whole green ethos.

“The forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment, as well as Covid, is being green and global warming. I think if everyone does their little bit to contribute to reducing your carbon, then it has a cumulative effect. People are trying to be more conscious and businesses leave a big footprint in terms of carbon; it’s everyone’s responsibility to reduce that. That’s definitely the forefront of The Bay Trees - good food and being as green as possible.”

Information on where the burger van will be serving food each night can be found on Facebook and Instagram (@thebaytrees).