A WORCESTERSHIRE woman is now seeing the fruits of her labour after more than 50 years of work thanks to a Government grant.

Janet Saunders helped her mother and step father sell produce from a roadside stall when she was a little girl back in the 1950s.

In 1978, Janet and her husband, George, set up their own stall and caf in a layby on the A38 at Copcut, just south of Droitwich. It became a familiar stop for drivers using the busy road.

Now, with the help of a grant of just under £20,000 from Defra's Rural Enterprise Scheme, their stall has moved from temporary buildings into a modern farm shop.

New chilling facilities are helping the business expand, which is good news for the producers whose fruit, vegetables, home-made produce, flowers and garden furniture are sold at Brookside Fruits. "When we started out, we sold our own produce - mostly strawberries, beans and sprouts," said Janet. "Over the years, the business kept growing and we have built up a regular clientele. But we were still operating the roadside caf and shop out of a caravan essentially. This limited how much we could sell and what stock we could keep in store," she explained.

"With the finance from Defra we now have permanent facilities, which have let us expand."

Stephen Hart, adviser for the Rural Development Service in the West Midlands said: "As well as enabling Janet and George to expand, their intention to sell local produce will benefit the local economy. It has also created four jobs."