A NORTH Yorkshire woman who had a “miracle” has started a new soap company after she wanted to spend more time with her son Percy.

Mary-Lou Byrne created her soap company, which is based in Thirsk Market and is called So-p, after she decided not to continue working full time in her previous job.

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Mrs Byrne’s son Percy was born during the lockdown in December 2020 and his birth gave Mary the inspiration to start the business – as well as the name of the business.

Percy was a surprise to Mrs Byrne has she had thought she couldn’t have kids.

She said: “Basically, I found out that I was expecting our baby, which was a complete surprise and we found out during the lockdown last year, so I was pregnant throughout the lockdown.

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“Then I decided that I would like to spend more time with Percy and rather than going back to work I decided not to go back and start my own business so that I could spend more time with him.

“I never thought I’d be able to have a baby you see so it was a complete surprise.

“He was the inspiration really for the business, so it’s a play on words with the So-p, because obviously it’s all soap, but it also means something to us because it’s So-Percy, which is his name."

Mrs Byrne added: "We’ve been really surprised with how warmly we’ve been welcomed. The comments and feedback that so many of the customers have given us have just been so encouraging and so lovely."

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