A MOTHER who dropped two dress sizes for her son’s wedding has launched her own fashion boutique.

Karen Lynagh (CORR) dropped two stone to a size 12 after enrolling with her local Slimming World at Sacred Heart School in Hartlepool.

She was determined not to put the weight back on and cleared out her wardrobe, selling the quality clothes which were too big for her.

And it was from here that the self-employed mortgage broker, from Bishop Cuthbert, Hartlepool, came up with the idea for Trading Treasures, a fashion store which sells nearly new high street and designer clothing brought in by the public.

Ms Lynagh said: “When I lost my weight I was determined that it would not go back on and for me that meant clearing out my bigger clothes so there wasn’t the temptation.

“But that presented me with a dilemma as I couldn’t afford to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. So I decided to sell what no longer fit at Hartlepool Enterprise Centre’s Christmas Fair.

"I’d also asked friends and family if they had anything they wanted me to sell and I ended up with 104 items. I had no idea it would be so big and that led to the idea to set up a website, www.tradingtreasures.co.uk

“I started to think about how many clothes us ladies have in our wardrobes that we never wear but can’t seem to part with because quite often we paid a lot of money for them. And that’s where the idea came from.”

The business is based at Hartlepool Enterprise Centre and even includes a hat hire service and children’s clothing. Some of the commission earned from sales goes to charity.