A WOMAN from Bury has made the final four for an entrepreneurial award at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards following an outstanding 12 months of success.

Jessica McCarthy, 30, set up Bunnies That Lunch three years ago - a subscription service for boxes of toys and treats for rabbits and guinea pigs.

Since then, Jessica has shipped countless thousands of boxes across the world, including to places such as the United States, Thailand, Dubai and The Philippines.

Now having made the final four from 2600 applicants in the start-up entrepreneur of the year category, Jessica is toasting the success which has seen her turn over her first £1 million, three years after starting with just £200 to her name.

She said: " I had just bought a house and only had £200 to my name - from there it just snowballed and snowballed.

"A lot of people have asked me how I have got to where I am and I put a lot of it down top hard work.

"I was spending 15 hours a day on Instagram - I never bought influencers or anything like that - and now I have more than 100,000 followers.

"I'm not from a business background and I have not had the money handed to me on a plate by parents, I've just self taught myself and worked really hard."

The Awards have celebrated entrepreneurs who have gone on to become household names.

Previous winners include the founders of BrewDog, Tangle Teezer, The LAD Bible, Clearscore and The Cambridge Satchel Company.

Judges of the awards include Hayley Parsons, who founded Go Compare, Cath Kidston, Lord Bilimoria of Cobra Beer and Kanya King, the founder of the MOBO awards.

This year, with face to face events a struggle due to the pandemic, the regional heats will be celebrated online on September 23.

Jessica, who lives in Brandlesholme, added: "At the minute, we are just focusing on getting through the pandemic. We're booming a bit but shipping costs have tripled as Royal Mail is having to charter flights.

"So, short term, we're just trying to get through the virus, long term, we'd like to get boxes started for cats and dogs."

For more information on Jessica's business, visit bunniesthatlunch.com.