The baker at the centre of Catherine Tyldesley ‘s cake gate scandal has said that small businesses are being inundated with crippling requests for freebies.

Rebecca Severs, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, made headlines last week  after she refused to make the Coronation Street star 100 cakes for her birthday in exchange for social media and magazine plugs.

Now, she’s written a message on her website arguing others to support local small businesses.   

Rebecca said that asking for freebies is an ‘insult to her’ and that many people ‘don’t value her’.

‘The small business community is overwhelmingly in agreement that this kind of request is detrimental to their businesses – even and especially when they have said yes to giving out freebies or work in exchange for “exposure”,’ she wrote.

‘Most people – small business owners included, but not exclusively of course – are living in times when they are struggling to pay the rent, mortgage, food and energy bills, and any luxuries (such as birthday cakes) have to be scrimped and saved for if at all.’

She added that most people want to ‘support their local businesses’ and ‘value them hugely’  

‘We’ve received hundreds of messages from small businesses this week, from the amusing to the devastating on this subject,’ she added.

‘There’s the street food company who were asked to cater for 30 people for a TV production company for free – for a week – who told them they’d “best ask someone else”. 

‘A Cornish bakery told me they were given a one star review recently when a customer asked for, and didn’t receive, a discount.

‘Another guy emailed me to say his company were asked for a free swimming pool once!’

Rebecca added that ‘disturbingly’ there were ‘stories of people whose business had been significantly impacted by making such agreements [free gifts for exposure], including one person whose business was forced to shut down due to the financial loss caused.

She added that one holiday accommodation company told her she was ‘often approached by influences and very minor celebrities asking for freebies’.

The company said that they often deal with ‘real’ celebrities that never ask for a discount and ‘leave a large tip’.

Rebecca added that the impact ‘isn’t just financial’ and ‘pricing for a small business is ‘very difficult’.   

‘I know personally at least two sole traders who are afraid to work out their costs because they know they are undercharging,’ she added.

‘Many do not even pay themselves minimum wage, let alone a wage that reflects their skill level. People constantly complain about prices when you work for yourself – because there’s an actual human who’s there to hear it, as opposed to a faceless corporation. 

‘Every quote that’s knocked back, every comment that’s made, every time you press the delete button and write a lower number in there – that all adds up to a lot of emotional baggage.’

She added that many bakers ‘aren’t worth what they’re charging’.

‘People don’t value us. I don’t value me. And so the cycle continues. And actually, this deepens the financial impact even more, ultimately.’

‘This short email exchange feels like a microcosm of what we are going through collectively. The rich getting richer, and ordinary people getting poorer. 

‘Why should anyone get a freebie when all my clients pay me their hard earned, hard fought for cash to buy our cakes for a special occasion? It’s not only an insult to me and my staff, it’s an insult to our loyal clients.

‘And the #cakegate story plays out all over the UK, and the world by the looks of my inbox, all day every day. Well, I don’t regret it for a second if maybe we’ve put some brakes on it, even if it’s just for a while’.

A row broke out when Rebecca shared a Facebook post with a screenshot of an email exchange between her bakery and the PR company  representing an unidentified ‘well-known’ celebrity, asking for a 40th birthday party cake, 100 cupcakes and a smaller birthday cake for the star’s husband. 

The founder of Three Little Birds Bakery wrote: ‘This poor celebrity apparently can’t afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What happened to women supporting women.’

The Mail revealed that the  party planners were in fact organising a 40th birthday bash for Catherine – and the actress didn’t hold back when she accused the ‘cake lady’ of ‘craving exposure’ in a reply.