A Croydon mum has turned her hand to marketing and selling underwear exclusively for teens after she discovered a gap in the market when her daughter reached adolescence.

Sue Guerrieri, 33, from Shirley, has launched an online store - the SugaPlum shop - which is dedicated exclusively to lingerie for teens and sells a range specifically designed for girls hitting puberty and beyond.

Sue said that unlike other teen lingerie, SugaPlum was designed to be fun, individual and practical.

The fashion expert spotted a major gap in the market for dedicated teen lingerie when her own daughter reached an age when she wanted the right underwear.

Despite her widespread search, she found nothing on the market reflected what teens really want. She said: "The SugaPlum Shop has been developed to meet teenagers' unique needs and tastes when it comes to buying lingerie.

"This is our exclusive focus and area of expertise. So much teenage underwear is bland and functional, but that is not what teenagers want. They want to wear lingerie that is trendy, individual and just plain fun - so that is the concept behind SugaPlum.

"Mums know they can now find lingerie that is perfectly suitable for their daughters, not lingerie that is inappropriately sexy or too just too boring to appeal to their daughters."

The entrepreneur has big plans for the SugaPlum shop and is planning to add new ranges, including her own designer range, later this year and a high street launch.

She also hopes that she can be an inspiration for other budding entrepreneurs. "Setting up this business has been hugely rewarding and challenging. I've pushed myself and I've poured all of my efforts into my quest for getting every little right.

"I firmly believe that if you have a passion for something, as I do with SugaPlum, then you should find a way to pursue it - and turn it into a great success," she added.