A new business opened its doors to the public last weekend in Ashby town centre.

Blinds&Shutters2U will be operating from premises in the very heart of Market Street.

It is the idea of international athlete and ex-racing driver Simon Ward who has only recently moved to Ashby - and loves the area.

The business will be opposite Mmacaron at 40A Market Street, above the barber shop.

And it is marketing itself as the only made to measure blinds company in Ashby.

Simon told Ashby Nub News about the business and why he moved into it.

He said: "The shutter industry has been hard hit by Covid which means there have been long delays to orders.

"But we've found a company that will do them in five days.

"It's a really quick turnaround. But we also give customers a choice where they can have a wood shutter and wait 16-20 weeks, or a PVC one in five days - you wouldn't know the difference.

"More to the point, it's half the price.

"We're talking about all kinds of blinds and shutters, but we're not doing curtains just yet."

Simon spoke of his background in the industry after entering 12 years ago.

He added: "I started with my business partner. He left after a couple of years and kept it ticking over - but it managed to survive Covid and the credit crunch"It's been a roaring success since Covid, and I wanted to give it a go.

"I had a shop in Burton on Trent, but it was the wrong side of town and I had to close it, so I worked from home for a while.

"Now, we have a workshop in Birmingham, next to our fabric supplier, and that's where all of our products are made.

"We'll bring them to the shop in Ashby, and I'll go out and fit them. It's a personal service.

"Whoever does the measuring also usually does the fitting. It's a bespoke service and we want a relationship with our customers for life.

"The fabric won't go wrong in time, but the plastic bit with it might and we'll come and fix that for free.

"It's a lifetime guarantee. We will be a little bit different."

Now Blinds&Shutters2U is teaming up with Ashby Nub News as its latest sponsor.

Before entering the blinds and shutters business, Simon worked high up in the IT industry.

He added: "I worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, but I got made redundant five times!

"This is a bit of a leap. I went on a course and learned how to put blinds up. After a while, I thought: "I can do this".

"After 12 years, I know what I'm doing. I've gone from three or four hours to put a blind up, now it's 25 minutes.

"But Ashby is a big catchment area, there are a lot of houses being built, and that's where we come in."