A CAKE sale at St Mark’s School in Salisbury has been hailed a success despite the star guest failing to turn up.

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White had been due to open the Halloween-themed event last Friday.

Organiser and parent Tamsen Tagg said: “He was absolutely mortified – it was complete confusion over the date.

“He had cleared his agenda for this Friday – it was a complete mix up.

“I confirmed it in writing with him but as he was out of the country it was forwarded to his office in London.

“He was in a restaurant in Salisbury at the time which made him so frustrated as he was actually in the city and had time to come.

“He was incredibly generous about it all – he wrote a letter of apology to the headmaster and doubled the prize he had donated from a meal for two to four at the Rudloe Arms in Bath.

“The sale was wonderful, we raised £495 and we were thrilled to have Sting and Trudi Styler’s chef who cut the ribbon for us.”

The proceeds from the sale are going to Care for Children, a charity that works in Asia to help get orphans out of orphanages and into local, loving foster families.