RACHEL PARKIN'S business is blossoming and growing apace with the help of the Prince's Trust.

Her Hylton Hydroponics company, based on Wearside, has been awarded further cash from the trust to cope with increased business.

Ms Parkin sells equipment to cultivate plants and vegetables in water without soil - a business she started in Hylton Road, Sunderland, after getting trust support 18 months ago.

She is experiencing soaring sales throughout the North-East and from as far afield as London.

She said: "The new £2,500 low-interest loan by the trust is a terrific help which will enable me to buy a van to offer a more complete service and to invest in a website to promote and market my products to an even bigger audience."

Prince's Trust manager Tracey Richardson, who covers the Tyneside and Wearside area, said Ms Parkin's success had given her particular pleasure.

She said: "Rachel was the first person I assessed after my appointment.

"It's nice to know you've played a part, however small, in helping a young person on the road to business success."

Ms Parkin, whose six-year-old daughter, Lauren, often surprises schoolmates and teachers with her knowledge of hydroponics, said she had originally intended a career in nursing.

She said that as a child she had been fascinated by the various methods of nurturing plants and vegetables.

She said: "When I discovered hydroponics, I decided that was something I really wanted to do."