A grandmother who was made redundant has bounced back by launching her own business – a mobile prosecco bar.

Janice Watson, 52, of Walk Mill Crescent, off Warwick Road, Carlisle, lost her job with Riverside Housing Association earlier this year.

She had always wanted to be her own boss and decided she now had the opportunity to give it a try.

“Someone I met on holiday from down south had a mobile prosecco van,” she said.

“I started to look into it and decided that there might be a business there.”

Her company is known as Prosecco Al Fresco.

The van she will be using is a Piaggio Ape which was imported from Italy.

The fizz will be served from kegs into flutes and has to be known as frizzante due to wine directorates.

Mrs Watson will also be serving bottles of the sparkling wine from the van.

She sees her main source of business being events around the county and will make her debut with thevan at the first-ever Cumbria Vegan Festival, which takes place at Rheged tomorrow, and has bookings for other events into September.

“I see there being three different types of market for it; private events, corporate events and public events,” she said.

The closest alternatives to Mrs Watson are in Leeds and Glasgow, giving her a large potential market.

She pointed out that prosecco is growing in popularity.

“Go into any pub anywhere and you will see someone with a bottle of prosecco.

“When people try it off the keg they say it is really nice, even some of the men, which surprised me.”

Mrs Watson has two children and four grandchildren.

Her daughter Rebecca Watson will be helping her serve it at events and her husband Alan will also help out as a driver.

“I have always worked for other people and it is a bit frightening working for yourself but it is also exciting,” she told The Cumberland News .

She hopes to expand the business if it takes off.

Cumbria Chamber of Commerce provided Mrs Watson with advice through its business start-up support project.

Kevin Thistlethwaite, who advised Mrs Watson, said: “This is a great thing to do.”