An entrepreneur received mentoring from one of the region’s top business figures as part of a prize.

Burley-in-Wharfedale-based Jackie Whiteley, who founded her organic gardening mulch business Strulch with husband Geoff, gained a silver award in the “Bucking the Trend” contest run by Business Link Yorkshire. Her reward was a mentoring session with Richard Gregory, chairman of Yorkshire Bank.

Jackie said: “Working in isolation is difficult and having someone of Richard’s calibre as a sounding board will make a huge difference to me and the business.

“While we are definitely bucking the trend this is a real bonus.”

Richard Gregory said: “Strulch is a product with a future and it has been a pleasure discussing possibilities and strategy with Jackie.”