A life-sized moving reindeer and the ‘world’s first walking unicorn’ are among the unique creations of a cake maker in Lincolnshire.
Hayley O’Beirnes, 36, originally launched Gadget Cakes in Birmingham around seven years ago, making structured and mechanical moving cakes to add a bit of theatrical performance to her creations.
Due to personal reasons she had to temporarily close the business and move away, but Hayley soon fell in love with Lincolnshire where she has lived for the last three years.
She relaunched Gadget Cakes in Gainsborough over the last 12 months, based on Highfield Close, with a combination of gadgets including gears, cogs and pullies, as well as different motors, being used depending on what sort of cake is needed.
Hayley O’Beirnes with her Rudolph cake. Photo: Firewood Film
The life-sized reindeer cake Hayley made for Cake International moves and can be fed carrots. Photo: Firewood Film
She is now hungry to spread her special cake making talent across Lincolnshire, and is also due to appear on Channel 5’s The Wonderful World of Cakes in April 2020.
Hayley makes her creations from the shed in her front garden, including Esme the walking unicorn, which she made for fun and the life-sized reindeer cake for Cake International in November.
She told Lincolnshire Reporter that she is known in the cake world as the ‘cake mechanic’.
One of Hayley’s Gold award winning cakes – a Labrador dog cake for Cake International.
Hayley said: “I want to be different. To me a cake has to not just look and taste nice, but also have a theatrical performance about it.
“When I had the dream of doing mechanical cakes, it has all been through trial and error, but I never dreamt I would make a life-sized mechanical reindeer cake that moved, but I did it.
“Gadget Cakes is all about doing the unbelievable and I feel blessed to see where it is now. When I did the reindeer cake at the Cake International show the kids loved that it was interactive and that they could feed him carrots. The looks on their faces made it all for me.”
The cakes normally have a minimum order of £100, but prices can vary as Hayley designs cake’s around her own and customer’s ideas.
Television work & cake creations
Although she was not able to disclose any specifics about the cake for the Channel 5 show, she said the experience was “full on” as a film crew followed her around filming for five days as she built the cake frame from start to finish.
The cake was later delivered to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital to a charity called Ronald McDonald House Charities, but you’ll have to wait until the Spring to find out what the cake is.
Among her other creations, since launching Gadget Cakes, are a tattoo cake with a working tattoo gun on it, a pouring vodka bottle cake, a moving dragon and a remote control car cake, which have mainly been made for individuals and charities.
She also featured on Channel 4’s Extreme Cake Makers in 2017 with an eight foot tall mechanical dragon cake.
Hayley teaches cake decorating part-time at the Cottingham Adult Learning Centre. She is also a featured artist at the Cake International Show and is training to be a judge there next year, as well as teaching more private classes in 2020.
A Deadpool cake was also among Hayley’s previous creations.
The work never stops and Hayley is currently working on a Minecraft cake and will be doing an Anime creation later this month. She also does a lot of walkthrough ‘how to’ make cakes and Hayley said this one almost went viral!
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A 20-year-old man has been locked up for three years after starting a fire in care accommodation with a discarded cigarette.
Callum Lilliot, 20, dropped a cigarette on his coat which he then threw onto his bed at his care accommodation in Awdry Drive, Wisbech, at about 10pm on Boxing Day 2021.
Officers initially were called to the property when Lilliot threatened to jump out of a second-floor window, but arrived to find smoke coming from an open window.
An officer began to kick the door down through fears that people were inside, before a carer opened it with a key and police tried to tackle the fire themselves.
The officers were beaten back by smoke and heat, causing two of them to be hospitalised with smoke inhalation. Four residents and carers were evacuated as Lilliot was arrested a short time later.
He claimed the fire had been an accident as temporary accommodation had to be arranged for other residents, but that was not to be the last time that Christmastime he got himself in trouble with the police.
In a further incident on December 29, just three days later, Lilliot rang 999 to say he wanted to hurt staff at Peterborough’s Edith Cavell Centre by burning it down.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of arson with intent to endanger life, arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered, and threatening to damage or destroy property, during a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29.
Lilliot was sentenced to three years detention in a young offenders institution.
Detective Sergeant Lee Womak, who investigated, said: “Lilliot showed little regard for the safety of others when he decided to deliberately drop his cigarette on his coat and start a fire.
“I don’t need to explain why starting fires is so dangerous and I hope Lilliot will reflect on his actions and consider how tragic the consequences could have been.”
A judge has issued an apology to a Boston man who admitted drug dealing after his sentence hearing was postponed for a second time because of strike action by crown court barristers.
Stacey Housham, 42, has been warned to expect jail after he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and heroin to other users.
Housham was due to be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on June 9, but the hearing could not go-ahead because of protest action by defence barristers.
His case was postponed until July 5, however Judge John Pini QC was again forced to adjourn the sentence hearing after being told Housham’s barrister was unavailable because of strike action.
Housham, who attended the hearing by video-link, will now be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on July 27.
Judge Pini told Housham: “These are serious matters. I have read the papers and the pre-sentence report in detail.
“Quite plainly your barrister needs to be here before you can be sentenced.
“I am sorry about this. It is something completely out of my control.”
Housham pleaded guilty to four charges concerning Class A drugs when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court in April.
He was due to be sentenced after the preparation of a report by the Probation Service.
A number of other cases at Lincoln Crown Court have been impacted by the nationwide strike action by the Criminal Bar Association. (CBA)
Eight out of 10 barristers voted for the walkouts amid concerns the Government will not improve a proposed increase in criminal Legal Aid.
Housham, who was of no fixed address at the time of his offences, and is formerly of Collingwood Crescent, Boston, admitted possessing both cocaine and heroin with intent to supply others on February 10, 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin to others between December 6, 2019, and February 11, 2020.
At a previous hearing the court heard Housham is now clean of drugs and has turned his life around.
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