A HAMPSHIRE entrepreneur is pleading with people in the county to help her pitch her business idea to Richard Branson.

Melissa Edmunds, who has won awards for her SafeSip invention, needs just a handful of votes to get on the shortlist for Branson's Pitch to Rich scheme.

If she is successful she could win thousands of pounds for a campaign to market her product.

Melissa, from Ringwood, came up with the idea for SafeSip, a cover for drinks, to stop her son David spilling his drinks.

And she saw its potential for use in hospitals when her father was taken to hospital, and one of her relatives was struck with a muscle-wasting illness.

Despite the fact that she did not have any design or product development training, she eventually left her job as a business development officer for South Wales Police to carry on the project.

She said: “The key to Safesip is that is a universal product that helps those with disabilities or who are sick to assist them to drink with dignity, can be used by children to stop drinks spilling, and also to stop drinks being contaminated with insects or drugs.”

Voting for Pitch to Rich ends at 5pm tomorrow, and anyone can vote for Melissa at virginmediabusiness.co.uk/pitch-to-rich/