A HAMPSHIRE businesswoman behind an award-winning range of maternity wear has scooped a top award.

Kate Bell has been crowned South East Entrepreneur of the Year after beating off stiff competition from more than 300 other nominees representing businesses across the region.

Kate, owner of Zip Us In, will now compete in the national finals in London in October.

Her family-run enterprise makes expander panels that enable the user’s jacket to grow with the wearer and her unborn baby.

The weather-proof panels, which are zipped into the front of the jacket, can also be used by both men and women when carrying a baby in a sling.

Kate, 37, of Dibden Purlieu, designed the product after giving birth herself.

She said: “I didn’t want to invest in a maternity coat that I’d use for only a short period and searched for an item that would ‘expand’ my own jacket.”

After failing to find anything suitable, the former Applemore College student devised her own solution and now runs a shop at Hythe Marina Village with mum Eileen and husband Nathan.

Kate said: “I designed a panel that would expand my jacket and fit around my bump, which would finally stop me from stealing my husband’s coat. Mum knocked up my design on her sewing machine.

“It kept my daughter close to me and warm inside my own jacket. There was no need to layer up, which could have resulted in both of us overheating. I was stopped several times by people asking me where I’d got it. This led me to pursuing the business idea. Lots of research later - I never knew there was so much to learn about zips - I created a panel that’s breathable, waterproof and award-winning.”

Now business is blooming - just like its customers. Zip Us In products can now be found in Boots stores across the UK, with sales starting to take off in Europe and parts of the US.

Kate received her accolade at the South East High Growth and Entrepreneur Awards, hosted by Barclays.

She said: “The company has grown faster than I could have ever imagined .

“I’m passionate about the products and although the days can be long I love what I do and it rarely feels like ‘work’.”