The remains of a ‘romantic meal for two’ were not abandoned in a Lake District woodland after all.

Pictures showing a table and chairs, left over champagne and cake in a woodland near Blea Tarn went viral after being discovered by a photographer, who believed the items had been left by an extravagant picnicker.

But now the boss of romantic occasions company DateMate has explained how she had set up the meal for a client who wanted to treat his partner for their birthday while they were on holiday in the area.

Charlotte Manning told the BBC that she returned to the woodland four hours after she set the birthday treat up and that she had chosen the location because she was looking for a "beautiful forest and secluded area".

"My client came to me with the intention of creating a private birthday surprise while they were holidaying in the Lakes, which is why we chose the forest area, away from the footpath," she said.

And due to the remote location Ms Manning needed the help of her fiancé to get all the items to the location.

"My fiancé helped me lug all the equipment from the road to the woodland, and it took us about four trips to set it all up," she told the BBC.

"By the end of the afternoon I'd done about 25,000 steps."

She said once the table was set up, she waited in the nearest car park until the man who had booked the surprise afternoon tea drove past at around 1pm on Monday and that she returned to remove the items at around 3:30pm.

The businesswoman told the BBC of her surprise at the subsequent Twitter storm that erupted after Ambleside photographer Ashley Cooper discovered the remnants of the meal between the couple, from Staffordshire, leaving and Ms Manning clearing it away.

Ms Manning said "The couple had a beautiful day and expected that would be the end of it.

"Seeing this couple in the centre of a social media storm was a huge surprise for us as a business and the couple themselves."