A LANCASHIRE woman has had to put her first venture into business on hold as a result of the SARS epidemic in China.

Fiona Arnold, from Foulridge, was planning to launch MiHan - a Chinese furniture emporium - in Barrowford this summer.

But now due to the growing SARS crisis export licences from China have been suspended indefinitely, meaning the first consignment of stock is not able to be shipped.

The Arnold family returned to the UK last year after spending four years in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Using contacts made during their days as expatriates, the family plan to open MiHan once the furniture they bought in China is allowed to leave port.

Fiona said: "As a non-Chinese national, I was advised not to drive so I was assigned a driver, Mr Li, who became a great personal friend to the family.

"He helped us choose the furniture we now have at home and this gave us the idea to import authentic Chinese furniture to sell through MiHan. But the expected summer launch has now had to be postponed indefinitely,

"When our people visited some of the craftsmen where they had already put down deposits on furniture, they found some of them putting up the shutters ready to leave the city.

"In China, there is little valid information and rumours feed a sense of panic. We quickly arranged to rent a warehouse to store furniture before the craftsmen left.

"But more worrying is the official customs office, which has to authorise any shipments out of China, is now closed indefinitely. Without their official stamp, nothing will be able to leave the country.

"It's frustrating, but nothing compared to this appalling situation for the Chinese people and the many ex-pats living there. We speak to our friends in Beijing regularly and it's clear help is needed."

MiHan has arranged to provide 1,000 US dollars worth of aid through the local China Red Cross and their staff in Beijing. This will be used to buy masks, disinfectants and medicines for the local people there.

Fiona said: "It is only a small token in such a huge city of more than 11million people, but we want to try and help the people who gave us such a wonderful introduction to their fascinating history and culture.

"Part of the reason for establishing our furniture operation is to bring to the UK examples of this culture via exquisite and unique furniture."

Donations can be made to the China Red Cross at No.53, Gan Mian Hu Tong, Mi Shi Da Jie, Dong Cheng District, Beijing 100010, People's Republic of China.