A married couple have reversed management roles in their line of business, converting cars from petrol to liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Deborah Shute, is managing director of Bedini Sales (UK) Ltd, based in Pateley Bridge, near Harrogate. She used to manage a car body shop at Supreme Motor Co, Leeds, previously owned by her husband Colin.

"However, I was tired of having all the responsibility that comes with running a big company, so took early retirement," said Colin, who is now sales manager at Bedini.

The Bedini system from Modena in Italy, which has been on the market for 45 years, had not begun selling in Britain until it was approached by Deborah for the UK franchise.

The 35-year-old mother of two is confident sales of her product will continue to grow. "Gas-powered cars are common on the continent, but, until recently, they had never really caught on here," she said.

It costs from £1,000 upwards to convert vehicles to LPG, depending on the size of the fuel tanks, which are made out of stainless steel.

Deborah said: "We started off converting Land-Rovers and RangeRovers, but are getting requests from owners of all types of vehicles."

She originally went to Barclays Bank with plans for her new business last Autumn. Deborah's business banker, Martin Colwell, said: "Deborah has spent a large part of her career in the motor trade and is in tune with the latest trends and developments."

Deborah said: "I currently employ the trainers on a freelance basis, but demand is so high that my plans are to take on full-time staff very soon."

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