EAST Lancs is now home to just the third drive-thru Greggs in the country. It opened this week on the outskirts of Blackburn at the new Euro Garages services just off junction 6 of the M65 – so we a reporter (who’s known to be partial to a steak bake) to road test the express bakery.

THE highly-anticipated Greggs drive-thru has opened on the outskirts of Blackburn.

Not one to miss an opportunity to claim lunch on expenses, I volunteered to test out the new 24-hour bakery all in the name of high-quality journalism *cough, cough*.

Notwithstanding the risk of crumbs in the car from an overly flakey sausage and bean melt, Greggs drive-thrus are a genius idea - why has no one thought of them sooner?

It's only been open a couple of days but the bakery was already doing steady business when I visited on Wednseday lunchtime.

I asked for my 'Greggs usual' - a steak bake and a latte - and then drove up to the window to pay and collect my order.

It came pretty quickly and I was on my way - selfishly forgetting to get any donuts for the rest of the team.

The menu, by the way, is extensive and you can have pretty much anything on offer at a regular Greggs.

I won't be venturing out there for lunch again anytime soon (one, because there's a Greggs round the corner from work, and two, I'm addicted to Hugo's Burritos) - but I may well be tempted on my way home after a late shift.

My colleagues were furious at the lack of donuts when I returned to the office - but in better news, I managed to keep my motor crumb free.

Lancashire Telegraph:

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DRIVE-THRU

THE Greggs drive-thru is a key part of the new £100million Frontier Park development by Euro Garages, which partially opened near junction six of the M65 off the Whitebirk roundabout.

The bakery has opened along with a BP petrol station and a Spar shop with a Subway and Totally Wicked store.

The drive-thru outlet is just the third in Britain, with Greggs bosses revealing their first two drive-thru outlets in Irlam in Greater Manchester and Ashby in Leicestershire were popular with customers.

As well as being open around the clock, the new store includes seating and has created 20 jobs.

It offers hot and cold sandwiches, soups and freshly-baked savouries all day while breakfast will be served until 11am featuring bacon rolls, fresh fruit and freshly-ground Fairtrade coffees.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Roger Whiteside, Greggs' chief executive, said: “As the internet changes the way we shop and our food-on-the-go eating habits, we have been focusing on taking Greggs to where our customers want us to be including office parks, industrial estates, retail parks and travel hubs.

“Our first two drive-thrus have proved popular with customers, offering the ultimate convenience, so we’re excited to open a third in Blackburn.”

The 90-acre business park can be accessed from the Whitebirk roundabout, just off the M65.Situated on the Blackburn/Hyndburn border, Frontier Park will have a million square feet of commercial space.

It is due for completion by 2022 and it aims to create around 2,000 jobs.

It will include five warehouses and a 150-bedroom hotel, conference and banqueting centre.