SIX years after illness prevented her from working, a Haydon Bridge woman has started her own business.

Cheryl Hutchinson has started CH Events to provide venues for people wishing to sell their arts, crafts and beauty products.

A former caterer, Cheryl was told six years ago that she couldn’t work after falling ill. She was later diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.

Because of the physical demands of the job, Cheryl looked elsewhere and started to sell nail products and Younique beauty products.

However, she found that many fairs and events didn’t allow direct sellers.

So she has made it her goal to provide as many events, across Tynedale and beyond, to make sure sellers similar to herself had a platform for their goods.

Cheryl said: “I try to hold events in different areas, and I have met similar people who were too unwell to work full time but still wanted a creative outlet to sell their stuff.

“There’s a lot of fairs and events held in Tynedale, but there isn’t any like ours which allows direct sellers.

“It’s been going really well, and Im pleased I started it.”

CH Events was created in the summer when Cheryl held a fair in Hexham’s Wentworth Leisure Centre in the summer, and the feedback from that event was positive.

Regular slots include Tuesdays in the Hexham Abbey between 9.30am and 1.30pm and every last Sunday at the Mart, in Hexham, to coincide with the car boot sale. The events have proved popular with stallholders, and a group of sellers are gathering regularly to add a social side to the fairs.

Cheryl said: “We have built up such a nice core of people that all get on as friends, and we all support each other. If anybody has any anxiety, for example, they will be looked after and will get to meet a group of people who are there for one another.

“The business has benefited me massively, and we have made people who were nervous about doing it feel more comfortable.”