Two friends from Keighley who found themselves out of work have brushed up their act and are now hoping to spruce up their home town.
Martin Challoner and Stephen Noutch used their combined 12 years' experience in painting and decorating and various qualifications to set up MnS Decorators with the help of the New Deal programme.
The pair contacted Keighley Local Enterprise Agency to help produce a business plan and got a loan from the Prince's Youth Business Trust.
They kicked off their new enterprise by offering to paint Keighley's Parkwood School for free.
"Although we hope our future work will bring us more income, we really wanted to do this to show our commitment to our local community," said Mr Noutch. "It is good for business to do the odd job like this for free."
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