A BUSINESS WOMAN from Kenilworth has reached the finals of an ITV contest to find Britain’s best "Mumpreneur". Sharon Ward, 37, of Knights Meadow, Kenilworth, has been selected as one of just 12 finalists from more than 100, 000 entries to the competition.

Mrs Ward combines the roles of busy mum and businesswoman as head of Teddy & Me, a company which sells clothes for premature babies. ITV's panel of expert judges decided unanimously that Teddy & Me was one of the UK's best mum-run businesses.

She said: " I blubbed when they told me I'd got through. I never expected it. I only got my entry in at the last minute. Even when I was travelling down to the ITV studios after I got the call I was thinking 'this is ridiculous'"

Mrs Ward, whose husband Jon encouraged her to enter the competition, compared the selection process to the BBC Two programme Dragons Den. She said: “You had to give a two minute presentation and I was in a mad panic because I only had the weekend to prepare. Standing outside waiting to go in was horrible. There was another woman from Warwick there and they really ripped into her business. She came out crying. I was terrified."

But the judges, all of whom are successful entrepreneurs, loved Teddy & Me. She added: "They were overwhelmed. I started the business after I became involved with the premature baby charity ADAPT, and I realised parents struggled to find clothes that actually fitted tiny babies."