Nobody entered into the spirit of St Piran's Day with more passion than the staff of St Piran Homes.

Honouring the patron saint of Cornwall, managing director Barry Bailey challenged his 25 colleagues to turn their offices into a St Piran's shrine for the day.

He threw in an extra incentive with prizes of £50 each, to be donated to charities of their choice, for the three best-dressed "St Piran's people."

Staff wore black and white in a variety of guises and also decorated their desks with St Piran's flags - with a bigger version adorning the wall and covering up site plans for the day.

To make sure everyone rose to the challenge, Barry also warned that anyone not entering into the spirit would forfeit their share of the Cornish saffron buns that were served for elevenses.

"I'm pleased to say there were no saffron buns left," he said. "We thought the 'black and white' theme was an entirely appropriate way to celebrate the day."

The company ordered nine dozen saffron buns, not only for office staff but for employees working on the building sites as well.

"We changed our company name four years ago to reflect more accurately the ethos of a Cornish company providing good quality homes in Cornwall and we do everything we can to demonstrate our genuine Cornishness.

"We supported three Cornish charities with our Christmas cards last year and I'm delighted that everyone once again entered the spirit for St Piran's Day."