DECORATING novelty cakes has given a former school lab technician a rewarding new career.

Jan Hegarty, 57, says her hobby has turned into a flourishing business.

She said: "The last 10 years have been astonishing, a real learning curve."

Jan has been commissioned to make cakes for TV shows plus hundreds of wedding cakes.

A chief lab technician at Rainhill High School, she says she never regrets swapping her test tubes for icing bags.

"It was a hard decision to leave my job and a regular income but I was always determined to make a success of the business."

Liverpool-born gran, Jan, is starting four new classes at Ditton Community Centre, Dundalk Road, Widnes.

She will be teaching all the basics, from covering a cake to decorating and simple modelling techniques.

"The classes are all about having fun and meeting people," said mother-of-two Jan.

For details, call Jan on 0151-487 8389 or 07778-988309.