Deep-fried Christmas pudding cost 50p a slice

Guilano's fish and chip shop, in Newburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is offering its customers the chance to tuck in to some deep fried Christmas pudding.

Lewy Guilano, who runs the take away, said they had been deep-frying different foods for years.

He said: "We have been doing fried Mars bars and Snickers since the idea first came up in Scotland.

"We also do Cream Eggs, but they are a seasonal thing, so in the run up to Christmas I decided to something else seasonal and came up with the idea of giving Christmas puddings a try.

If people choose these items now and again, once a week or once a fortnight, it is not going to do them too much harm Moira Hill, dietician

"I've had favourable reports so far."

Mr Guilano said he served up the Christmas pudding for 50p a slice.

He added: "You can more or less fry anything, as long as it's not going to fall apart and taint the oil.

"We also do a deep fried jam sandwich for 30p which is very popular with the youngsters around here.

"We even get a team of rowers who always call in when they have been out on the river to replenish their energy levels with a deep fried jam sandwich.

"It tastes similar to a hot jam doughnut."

Clogged arteries

Moira Hill, a community dietician in Newcastle, said having fried pudding now and again was fine.

She said: "We have always got to look at things in the context of what we eat overall.

"If people choose these items now and again, once a week or once a fortnight, it is not going to do them too much harm.

"What most health professionals are concerned about is that if people are eating these kind of things on a much more regular or daily basis it may well begin to clog up their arteries."