This is a public service announcement..

As a good citizen I feel obliged to draw your attention to a new hazard of which visitors to North Devon should be made aware of.  A new danger which could prove to be of a greater threat to life and limb than perilous rip tides, or walking along straggly paths high on windswept precipitous cliffs or, heaven forbid, finding yourself lost in outer Ilfracombe. The threat posed by this new peril is even the more alarming as it a potential hazard which could be encountered by visitor and local alike, such is it's ubiquitous and apparently innocuous presence throughout our region. So it is with a deep sense of social responsibility that I issue this warning in order to prevent further injury and deep distress. We don't want another holiday ruined or a person traumatised and scarred both physically and emotionally especially when all it takes is a for a few words of caution to be heeded in order for such tragedies to be averted.
Therefore I urge you please, please beware of the hot steak and gravy pasty. You have to be aware that these savoury delights, although a local specialty should be only eaten with extreme caution as when they are fresh out of the oven they tend to be hot.
Unfortunately,  it is with a heavy heart that I have to report that the existing warnings have proved to be wholly inadequate in the wake of last weeks tragic maiming and permanent disfigurement of a visitor.
The Journal has reported that this poor woman had her whole weekend break ruined after biting into a Warren's steak and gravy pasty. The gravy was apparently at a temperature that was excessive, above boiling point, supra-heated and as it dribbled down her chin it caused extensive scarring which could still be seen the following day. She complained that not only was the pasty too hot but also there was too much gravy and she should have been warned by the staff at Warren's outlet in Braunton of this fact. from what I gather they apparently failed to treat the lady's grievance with the gravity it deserved. Instead of administering to the customers wounds I believe that they greeted her justifiable consternation with hoots of derision. Shocking. Now the injured party is in two minds as to whether she will be visiting North Devon again and as she works with members of the public and this disfigurement has caused her to become extremely self conscious, she is considering litigation. She is of the opinion that nobody is taking her plight seriously.
On behalf of myself I would like to assure the lady concerned that this is far from the truth. I was so deeply distressed by this incident that I took it upon myself to make up some relevant warning signage and I caught the bus, post haste, down to Braunton, where I marched into the said branch of Warren's and demanded that my warning signs which I may add I have also submitted along with details of the case to ROSPA, be displayed prominently in and around the pasty counter. Head office had obviously had a word with them as they were nothing but courteous to my good self and assured me that the signs would go up as soon as the next batch of steak and gravy pasties were out of the thermo-nuclear device they call an oven. Of course I don't think they would have extended me such courtesy had I not explained to them that I am one of their best customers and that Warren's is an advertiser on my site. I also consider myself to be  something of a local expert on health and safety matters after having been on a course when I was working up at Tucker's Turkey Farm out at Goodleigh last Xmas.
I am happy that in the future visitors to North Devon can fully appreciate the beauty of our region, the long sandy beaches, the fine coastal views, the wooded valleys and high moors without the threat of it all being ruined by the nightmare scenario of having hot pasty gravy dribbling down your chin.