Stanley kicks off Darren’s business

Darren Woodhead’s passion for Accrington Stanley was the unlikely start of a new business venture.

The lifelong fan wrote a history of the club “The Long Road Back”, which charts Stanley’s recovery since it became the first to drop out of the Football League in 1968.

To help promote the book, Darren launched a website which was an instant hit with fellow fans from around the world.

That was in September last year and today his web site – www.lancashirebooks.co.uk – is home to around 60 authors and historians.

“The internet was an ideal way to promote my book and I thought it would be a good idea to bring in other authors and publishers,” said Darren, of Selby Close, Accrington.

Lancashire Books concentrates on local history and sport and has titles for most towns and villages in the county.

Darren, who has been supported by business start-up specialists at Hyndburn Enterprise Trust, upgraded his website earlier this year and now has full e-commerce facilities to allow customers to buy on line.

Darren says: “International sales are growing as exiled Lancastrians search for information about their roots: I am selling to ex-pats in Australia, Canada and the United States. And with Christmas coming up, people overseas are buying books from the site to send to relatives and friends in the UK.

“Sales are steadily increasing each month so I am expecting a record year in 2006.”

Darren currently runs Lancashire Books on a part-time basis and works as a fitter at Burnley aerospace company Aircelle.

Picture shows Darren Woodhead