The woman who told the world Caramac had been axed

The woman whose social media post alerted the world to the demise of the Caramac bar says she stockpiled 20 boxes after hearing rumours months ago.

Paula Swan uses the caramel bars to make eclairs and doughnuts in her Pastel bakery in Newtongrange, Midlothian.

When a supplier confirmed last week that the bar was being axed, Ms Swan posted the news on Facebook.

She did not know she was breaking the news until her posts racked up millions of views and manufacturer Nestlé was forced to confirm the story.

Nestlé said it was "a difficult decision" but pointed to slower sales in recent years.

Caramac was launched more than 60 years ago and quickly gained popularity thanks to its distinctive red and yellow wrapper and caramel flavour.

Ms Swan told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme she had been eating Caramac for about 40 years and it was a key flavour at her bakery.

"I'm like a Caramac guru at the moment" she said.

She said she heard rumours a few months ago that the bar might be discontinued.

"We asked our supplier to keep us a few boxes and start hiding them for us, just in case,” she said.

The bakery’s supplier confirmed the news last week and 20 boxes were delivered to Ms Swan for the last time on Monday.

She took a picture of the boxes, shared the news on Facebook and went to bed.

The bakery’s Facebook page normally has about 3,000 views but by Tuesday morning the Caramac post had been seen 85,000 times.

However, there was no official comment from Nestlé and some people accused the bakery of making up the news up in an attempt to increase sales.

Ms Swan emailed Nestlé and received word about an hour later.

She posted the response on Facebook to “try to calm everyone down”.

She says more than four million people have now viewed the post.

"I honestly had no idea I was breaking the news to the nation," Ms Swan said.

"This is the most bonkers 48 hours of my life, it’s been both brilliant and terrifying."

Ms Swan says the bakery first tried Caramac-flavoured baked goods a few years ago.

"They've been so popular we've never been able to take them off the shelf," she said.

"We've had them on every day for four years."

She expects queues over the weekend and regular customers have called to reserve their caramel treats in advance.

Ms Swan had planned for her stock to last until Christmas but with the increase in Caramac's publicity, she has contacted Nestlé to see if they have any spare boxes.

She is still waiting for a response.

However, an employee from Nestlé did contact Ms Swan when the final batch of the caramel treat came off the production line on Wednesday evening.

She joked about being dressed in black, saying: "We sell a lot of Caramac eclairs so it's going to be a very sad day in the bakery to see them go."