A young Asian woman has taken the first step on the ladder towards her ambition of becoming a business tycoon.

Simmy (Simerun) Akhtar has bought the former Feversham College school building on Leeds Road from Bradford Council and has redeveloped it to set up business with her own DIY store, which opened on Saturday.

President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, John Pennington, said: "It is highly unusual for a young Asian woman to take this step and it is much to her credit.

"I have evidence from visits to 6th forms in the district of a wealth of talent in our young Asian women. They are as bright as buttons and are sometimes known to overtake the young men. They have a great future.

"I wish her well but while it is okay to set up a business it has to be profitable and you have to tell people you are there."

Miss Akhtar, 26, who lives in Keighley, will employ two people and hopes Leeds Road DIY will be the start of a chain of stores which would make her name in the business world. Family and friends loaned money and helped her to buy the former Muslim girls school.

The huge conversion into a store which will sell anything from doors and bathroom suites to nuts and bolts has been carried out by members of her family, including her father Ahmed Hussain, brother-in-law Talib Hussain - both building contractors owning separate companies - and cousin Khalid Manzoor.

Another brother-in-law Muddassar Manzoor also helped with the job of converting the building.

Miss Akhtar said: "My message to any young Asian woman is to go for it, however unlikely it may seem. I have friends who are lawyers and doctors but don't know any other woman with a DIY business."

She said her family was understanding and supportive and all her five sisters had independent personalities.

The former pupil of Greenhead Grammar School gained A-levels, including business studies, at Shipley College and a degree in psychology from Manchester University.

"I have done full research for the business and gone for products which are good quality and cheap. I have shopped around all over the country and found my suppliers.

"I think this is a beautiful building. It was something I really wanted. At first I thought of converting it into studio flats but it is the wrong place for it. I will be putting more money into the redevelopment of the building as the business progresses," Miss Akhtar said.