A group of teenagers from Westbury have set up their own smoothie business which they hope will raise money for a local charity.

The teenagers, who are all aged between 13 and 15, came up with the idea at a girls night at Eden Vale Youth Centre.

The girls, who have had to complete a Level 2 food safety and food hygiene certificate, have come up with three smoothies called Chocomoco, Bananarama, and Succulent Strawberry, which they have taken to a number of events in the town.

The project, which is being funded by Wiltshire Council in conjunction with Eden Vale Youth Centre, will raise money for Dorothy House hospice.

Lauren Griffiths, 14, said: “We came up with the idea at a girls’ night.

“We’ve already taken the business to the town’s summer and winter fetes and the recent area board meeting. “The smoothies have gone down pretty well with people, especially at the summer fete last year.

“We have been invited back to the next area board meeting as well as any fetes taking place in the Market Place this year.

“In the future we’d like to run our own smoothie shop in the town.”

Amy Stallard, 15, whose twin sister Tiffany is also involved in the business added: “We’ve had to test all the recipes. We’ve got other chocolate smoothies which are just experiments at the moment.”

Sally Willox is manager at Eden Vale Youth Centre, which provides activities for 280 young people a week.

She said: “The girls came to me and said they wanted to start a healthy smoothie business. They researched their own recipes and tested them on the general public to get feedback.

“They even did their food safety and hygiene certificate, which we also funded.”