A FAMILY legacy has helped a dream come true for a Widnes mum.

Janet Unsworth, 32, says she has only been able to open her new male designer clothes shop, thanks to her late mum's inheritance.

"I really see it as a gift," said mother-of-two, Janet, of Widnes. "I lost my mum, Cath Sinnott, earlier in the year. When she found out she had cancer, we wanted her to sell her house and enjoy the money.

"Mum always struggled, she brought three of us up on her own. She knew it was my dream to run my own business."

Janet decided to specialise in boys and mens' designer wear.

"My husband, Anthony and my brothers have always worn designer clothes but have never been able to get them in Widnes," said Janet. "With apartments being built and house prices rocketing, I think there's a big gap in the market here."

Ambitious Janet already has plans to expand her Rylands Street shop, Designer Lounge.

"If the business goes well, I will introduce shoes and hopefully, within two years, have exactly the same for ladies and girls."

Janet said it will be a challenge juggling family life with running a business, but she is determined to succeed.

Her son, Adam, two, has just started nursery, and her daughter, Lucy, five is at school.

"The family is mucking in to help," she said. "Everyone wants it to work out for me."