Yahoo TV

A former market trader who came out of retirement during lockdown has set up a successful sweet shop - on a canal barge. Pat Creaven, 61, and his wife Jill sail their boat along the Leeds-Liverpool canal and opens his floating sweet shop at various stops on the route. The couple sail between Rodley in Leeds, West Yorks., to Foulridge in Pendle, Lancs., on board their home-cum-shop, called Pendle Witch Sweets. And they sell hand-measured traditional sweets for £1 per 100 grams during stops at stations along the route to the delight of customers. The couple bought their barge in 2017 and planned to spend their retirement cruising the canalways of the UK and Ireland. But during lockdown, entrepreneur Pat purchased an old pair of scales and decided to open a sweet shop on the boat. He added: "We bought the boat in 2017 and we were retired for a small section of the time. "During lockdown, we purchased some old fashioned Woolworths scales, so I decided to set up a sweet shop business, to my wife's dismay. "I started on the markets when I was 15, so I thought 'I'll finish on the markets'. "We set the sweet boat up and it's been a success since." Sweets are colour-coded for people with dietary requirements, including gluten free and items suitable for vegetarians and vegans.