WHEN he began searching for a base to design specialist sports footwear, Wayne Edy never dreamt he would end up renting a Methodist church hall.

But from there, he has built a successful business, which involves his designs embarking on a remarkable journey.

From the hall in Wolsingham, in Weardale, County Durham, computer designs of the running shoes and walking boots are sent to a factory in Xiamen, southern China.

There, they are manufactured, then shipped to a warehouse at Jarrow, South Tyneside.

From there, they are shipped to retailers all over the world.

At the same time, Mr Edy, who is now one of the UK's leading sports shoes designers, is also providing towards the upkeep of the Methodist church, in Wolsingham.

Born in Zimbabwe, he arrived in the dale 14 years ago with his wife, Joanne, who was from the area.

He first secured a job as general manager of Stanhope and Weardale Co-operative Society. He said: "I can remember how much an impact the dale and its people had on me. I decided this was where I wanted to stay."

In 1994, he entered the sportswear industry -heading the footwear division of Washington company Berg-haus, before he became managing director of the Brasher Boot Company, of Lancaster.

In 1998, he set up the footwear consultancy Inov8 at his Wolsingham home, serving the likes of Nike and Adidas, as well as Berghaus and Brasher.

In June this year, he offered to rent the Methodist hall.

He said: "There were just no suitable business units available in the dale.

"I did not want to move out of Weardale.

"There is a great pool of talent here and I wanted to tap into that."

He has now employed 25-year-old Graham Jordison, a former Wolsingham School pupil, as design and product co-ordinator, and will recruit one full-time and two part-time workers.

Inov8 has established itself as a leading brand in sports footwear.

One of its fell running shoes was named product of the year by Runner's World magazine. Mr Edy said: "We have no problems with the Chinese employing cheap labour.

"Their factory is computer-based and they are very pleased by the work we have brought to them.

"I am proud that we are now going to be able to enlarge our base and employ more people here in Weardale."