A FORMER events manager, who created her own old-fashioned sweet emporium, has won a prestigious award.

Lucy Scott Paul, who runs Bah Humbugs in Masham, scooped a top award at the recent Yorkshire and Humber’s Women in Business Awards.

She has run her traditional sweet shop in the Yorkshire Dales market town for the past eight years after studying for a degree in sociology and anthropology and then working as an events manager.

The shop has become well known for its eye-catching window displays and has included mosaics of Marilyn Monroe and members of the royal family created entirely from Jelly Beans.

This summer Ms Scott Paul launched her own retro sweet hampers online, which recently featured in The Sunday Times.

The hampers were the result of eight years of research to find suppliers of dozens of childhood favourites such as Sherbert Fountains, Refreshers and flying saucers.

The shop owner won the businesswoman in retail category and was presented with the award by fashion designer Jeff Banks. She was also shortlisted in the recent Flavours of Herriot food awards.

She said: “I always wanted my own business, but could never find anything I wanted to do. Then a shop came up in Masham and I thought I would set up a sweet emporium for sweet fanatics.

“Winning this award has been a really, really massive pat on the back. It’s been eight years hard work.”