AN Ayr restaurant and delivery service has been shortlisted at a prestigious national awards ceremony.

Nanny Mary's, on Ayr's Smith Street, is one out of five restaurants across Scotland chosen in the "Food Start Up" category at the StartUp Awards National Series - a national awards ceremony that celebrates the best of new business ideas.

The friendly diner specialises in desserts and mouth-watering burgers.

A record number of businesses applied to this year’s StartUp Awards, with 1,100 firms shortlisted across 10 UK nations and regions.

In a touching social media post, a Nanny Mary's spokesperson said: "After our Nanny/ Mammy passed, we decided to open up Ayr's first family friendly dessert parlour bringing customers good old fashioned no gimmicks desserts.

"We wanted to give families a place to enjoy family time and make great memories around the dinner table, the same way myself and family did with our Mammy/Nanny.

"We wanted not only to have a great diner for families, but also have a fantastic place that helps local families.

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"After our Mammy/ Nanny passed away, there was a hole in all our hearts but in the midst of our grief we decided we were going to channel the energy into something positive."

A StartUp spokesperson said: "Scotland’s best new businesses have been shortlisted as part of a national awards programme.

"The contribution of these firms - all of which were started in the last three years - is significant.

"The winners of each category, including the Scotland Startup of the Year, will be announced at the awards that will take place on April 27 at SWG3 in Glasgow."