ENTERPRISING Hughie McGarry didn’t have to look too far when he faced an uncertain future - the solution lay next door in Accrington.

Hughie was rocked when the boiler spares firm he had managed for eight years announced that it was closing down.

However, he spied an opportunity with neighbouring James Hargreaves Plumbing Depot and bosses there were so impressed with his plan that its first ‘parts division’ is now up and running - with Hughie in charge.

“It’s all worked out brilliantly,” said Accrington-born Hughie, 46, who has worked in the plumbing and heating industry for three decades. “I knew James Hargreaves Plumbing Depot as a progressive firm, always keen to expand and listen to new ideas so I thought I would give it a punt.

“I met with management and they immediately saw the advantage of combining what they do with an in-house spares division at their branch on Electricity Street.

“It is a sort of ‘branch-with-a-branch’ and the early signs are really promising. The plumbing and heating engineers of Accrington certainly seem suited to be able to get all they want under one roof.”

A former pupil at Moorhead High School, Hughie’s career in plumbing and heating started at 16, on YTS at an Accrington firm. He also spent nine years as a procurement and purchasing manager for Hyndburn Borough Council.

“I left there to join Hecas Heating Spares in 2005, but the company recently announced that it was not renewing its lease. I hoped my idea of a parts division would interest James Hargreaves Plumbing Depot, but never dared hope it would develop so quickly,” he added.

Bill Davies, sales director at James Hargreaves Plumbing Depot, said: “It is a new venture for us in terms of stocking spare parts in a branch, but we don’t view it as a gamble, particularly with having such an experienced manager as Hughie at the helm. We are confident that it will work out well and then we can look at expanding other branches in the same way.”