Mark and Heather Shelley are giving up their Millennium Eve celebrations - to look after other people's children.

The couple, who run a nursery in Cowling, are throwing a lifeline to parents who want to party but have no-one to look after their offspring.

For £10 an hour - twice the going rate - Small Ways nursery will look after 16 youngsters throughout New Year's Eve.

Owners Mark, 36, and his 32-year-old wife Heather, left, who have a six-month-old son Matthew, said the idea had originally come from staff.

"We thought it was a great idea. We'll be charging £10 an hour which we don't think is prohibitive," said Mark.

"Rather than pick children up half-pickled, parents might want to leave them overnight so we are asking them to provide a sleeping bag.

"The children will celebrate with fizzy apple juice and in the morning we'll have a champagne breakfast for those parents who leave their children all night."

The couple opened the nursery three months ago after moving from London where Heather, a nurse, is still working part time at Great Ormond Street Hospital for another month.

Mark, who worked in theatre and television, said the couple had had enough of living in the capital. "We came up here for a better quality of life and we have found it,'' he said.

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