THREE young entrepreneurs have set up what they believe is the first funeral business to be helped by the Prince of Wales.

Bell's Funeral Service, which opens officially in Railway Road, Darwen, on Monday, was set up with a grant and loan from the Prince's Youth Business Trust.

The partners in the business, Edward Bell, Lorraine Knight and Mark Phillips, have been told it is probably the first firm of its kind to receive assistance from the trust.

The trio, who are all from Darwen, also received help from ELTEC's Firm Base scheme.

Edward said: "I was a ceramic tiler by trade and I tiled a funeral director's bathroom. He asked me if I wanted to do some casual work for him and it went from there.

"I spent seven years working in a funeral parlour and left there to go it alone.

"It is not a job you enjoy as such, but it is good to be able to make a difficult day easier for someone."

Lorraine was a supervisor in a restaurant and Mark was a painter and decorator, which enabled them to save money on getting the firm's premises ready.

Edward said: "We are quite unusual because usually funeral directors go into business when they are older. But we are all under 30.

"We have done our market research and we are feeling confident about the future."

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