A MOTHER-OF-FIVE has realised her dream of opening a sweet shop at the site she used to visit as a child.

'Sweet Reminiscing by Sharon-Rose' has been opened in Fern Gore Avenue in Accrington.

The occasion is all the more sweet for Sharon-Rose Allison-Howard after opening the new shop as it at the same site of the VG sweet shop she visited as a child in the 1980s.

She is now hoping to give children in the area somewhere to enjoy visiting like she did as a child.

Mrs Allison-Howard, 41, said: “I knew what shop I wanted and I loved the fact I could plan it all and seen all avenues open up. The jigsaw was finally fitting together.

“Knowing that I have brought all those memories flooding back feels so great and the biggest smile is on my face.

“The children come to the shop with there jars of pennies all excited and the novelty of buying the penny sweets has come back.”

The shop sells retro and traditional sweets, and the owner asked for views of potential customers on social media for what to sell.

Items on sale include penny sweets, caramel fruits, milkshakes and sweet bouquets.

After she left school at 15 due to moving, she ended up working as a school classroom assistant in Belfast, a checkout operator in Edinburgh and an accounts clerk, book-keeper and debt controller in Blackburn.

The mother-of-five then decided to fulfill her dream of opening a business, and ‘perfect’ opportunity came at the Fern Gore site.

The Accrington resident would also like to see a playground returning to the Spinning Jenny area of the town.

There was one in the area when she was growing up, before it was removed in the 1990s, and she thinks that it would further attract children to the area.

Mrs Allison-Howard said: “Its heartbreaking seeing it empty and doing nothing when so many children in the area could benefit from a nice park being restored in the heart of the estate.

“This is my next goal and with all the support of the people of Fern Gore behind it, it will be achievable.

“Every thing I wanted so far has come true.”

Decoration at the store was done by Mrs Allison-Howard with her husband and children.

The official opening of the store was attended by Hyndburn MP Graham Jones and ward representative on Hyndburn Council Cllr Munsif Dadd.

The business has already attracted customers from across Hyndburn and has interested from as far as Belfast, Edinburgh and Little Hampton.