Rock in a hard place: seaside treat under threat from cheap imports, say manufacturers

Blackpool rock, a British seaside institution as traditional as donkey rides on the beach, amusement arcades and fair to middling weather, is facing an existential threat from cheap and inferior Chinese imports, manufacturers have said.

- Mark Brown

Ten rock makers have come together to sign a letter warning of a "grave and immediate challenge to our industry, jeopardising the lives of our employees and the sustainability of our business".

Blackpool rock is facing a crisis like never before, they say. They want it to be given a geographic protection similar to Stilton cheese or Cornish pasties.

"We have never all agreed on something as much as we have on this," said David Thorp, who coordinated the letter. "I've met directors of other factories I've never had contact with before and we are all in agreement what is happening to us is having a massive effect."

Rock is still a staple at seaside resorts whether it's Whit by or Weston-super-Mare. What most people don't realise is that almost all of it comes from Blackpool.

"Today I've made Southend rock," said Thorp, one of the vanishingly few people skilled in the art of getting letters through each stick. "Yesterday it was Brighton. A couple of days ago it was Llandudno. But it could be Dymchurch or Skegness."