A WOMAN who races huskies for Great Britain has started a business selling nutritional supplements for greyhounds.

Pauline Sirrell, 28, has set up Northolm Supplies at her home in Houghton-le-Spring, near Durham.

She said: "I started in business as Northolm Supplies because I saw a niche in the market that I felt I could fill with my knowledge of dogs and their nutritional needs."

Miss Sirrell, from Peterlee, County Durham, was brought up by a family who raced and bred working dogs such as greyhounds.

From a young age, she would help her grandfather train greyhound pups. He would tie rabbit skins around her waist and she would run along the beach, with the pups chasing after her.

Now she takes part in husky racing and treats her dogs like trained athletes, giving them balanced diets.

She discovered the benefits of supplements for humans when she represented the UK in karate.

She said: "I race my huskies in the British Sled-dog Racing Association national race season and I also work closely with people like Terry Meynell at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium.

"Terry has been fantastic and has helped me contact and work with greyhound trainers to supply the nutritional needs of their dogs."

She approached the Prince's Trust with her business plan and received a £500 grant and a £2,000 loan.

This helped her buy stock and establish a website, offering products for working, racing and show dogs, with customers including some of the winners in their field. Miss Sirrell decided to set up the business after she overcame health problems last year.

She said: "Because of problems with my health, I decided that the best thing to do to keep money coming in would be to start up my own business.

"This meant that I would have the flexibility to be able to take time off to recover from my operation as and when I needed it, as well as being able to work flexible hours."