Two women are helping the worlds of fairies, pirates and other magical characters come to life for children across the district.

Sara Lewis and Helen Moorhouse combined to set up their business, Perfect Parties for Little People, after they attended a business development course at Shipley College.

The pair run themed parties for youngsters which aim to be as realistic as possible to give the children a day to remember.

Mrs Lewis, of Nab Wood, said they were persuaded to attend the business course by colleagues at Airedale General Hospital where they are both physiotherapists.

She said: "Helen and I had been involved at work organising charity balls on quite a big scale and had run themed parties for my children.

"Friends said we should do it as a business so we decided to go to Shipley College to do the business course last year and it went from there."

Now the business is blossoming and, although the pair will continue to run it part-time, they hope to increase the number of parties they organise.

"The idea is that we are arranging special parties which are tailor-made for children's celebrations," said the 39-year-old.

"As we all know, youngsters really look forward to their birthdays and if you can give them something special the memories are going to last a lifetime. We find out what a child likes and organise the party around that."

Mrs Lewis and her 28-year-old business partner, who lives in Haworth, provide the props for the parties.

The youngsters create their own costumes on the selected theme which can range from Peter Pan to fairies, Red Indians and football.

"For example, one young girl just loved making things so we ran an arts and crafts party where we helped the party-goers paint glass, make paper windmills and gliders," said Mrs Lewis.

"We bring in traditional games like pass the parcel and pin the tail on the donkey - but we relate them to the theme. So you might have 'pin the wand on the fairy' or 'pin the driver on the motor car'."

And the initiative has been so successful that the pair have been inundated with requests. Mrs Lewis said: "We've never had to advertise because, from the very first party we had, we got others from that and everything has gone from there.

"It can be a challenge because every party is different and the requirements are different but we have been surprised at how many we have done."

She added Perfect Parties for Little People normally catered for four to ten-year-olds but would be willing to cater for older children.

For further information telephone (01274) 592331 or (01535) 647457.