An Epsom entrepreneur has been shortlisted ahead of more than 3,000 nominees in a national award for exceptional working mums.

Business owner and mother-of-one, Karen Fisher, runs Childcare Specialists, a nanny agency offering childcare for families in the UK and overseas.

She was nominated anonymously and is one of 10 finalists in the future star category in this year’s Mumpreneur event, a conference and awards event now in its sixth year.

Miss Fisher, 29, of West Ewell, attended Epsom and Ewell High School and Nescot College before building up a strong client base as a maternity nurse and nanny.

She spotted a gap in the market for an agency that was open seven days a week and Childcare Specialists was born in September last year.

Miss Fisher said: "I’m passionate about my job - I’m a giver and a helper and I like to make sure that people are happy - that’s how I thrive.

"The clients are very reassured that they have a mother at the end of the phone who knows what she’s talking about," she added.

She described how initially she was working nights, taking five-year-old daughter Chloe-Rose to and from Manor House School in Little Bookham and setting up the company on top.

She said: "I was surviving on three hours sleep a day."

Miss Fisher encouraged other working mothers by saying that if they are determined enough, with their goals set, "you will get there."

She said: "Society today is still very tough for working mothers and there isn’t equal opportunity."

"The really special thing about the awards is the recognition."

The entries will be judged by a panel of top entrepreneurs and the winner of each category on November 8.