PAOLO'S fish and chip shop in Denton Holme is celebrating its 10th year in business.

The fast-food restaurant was opened in 2013 by owner Paul Fantana, who is supported by his son and daughter.

Paul has been working in fish and chip shops for 58 years, with his first job coming at just 10 years old, when he chipped potatoes for his father's business.

After working and running a number of different fish and chip shops, Paul celebrates the tenth anniversary of Paolo's and highlighted how the fast-food industry is not as easy as some may think.

He said: "It's not easy, people think we just walk in and switch the pans on, the prep that goes on before, during, and after is quite phenomenal when we are lucky enough to be a successful shop and be busy.

"If you put rubbish in your pan there is only rubbish going to come back out, so it is a matter of buying nothing but the best of everything."

Despite the immense amount of work and effort that Paul has put into Paolo's, he reflected on what he described as a 'very enjoyable' 10 years which have been dedicated to expanding his business and bringing tasty treats to Carlisle.

"It has been very enjoyable, we built it up and I have spent a lot of money on the shop, investing everything we have made, it has gone back into the shop with new equipment and building works and things like that," he said.

"We persevered with it and it has really worked well."

In recent history, the shop has faced the adversity of the Covid pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with food price rises making sustaining the business more difficult.

However, through it all Paul piled the thanks on the local community who have supported his shop.

"This year has been tremendously difficult because potatoes have nearly doubled in price," he said.

"It's not for the faint-hearted.

"One hundred percent thank you, especially in the Denton Holme area it is a very solid community.

"In Denton Holme is like a big community, all the shop owners, we stick together."