A NEWLY opened tackle shop will send a fishing fanatic on the trip of a lifetime while raising money for a very good cause.

The owner of Wedgbury Way-based business RD Tackle, Ryan Hayes, is holding a prize raffle in his store to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Ryan, an avid carp angler, is supporting the cause which he said is close to his heart after suffering from Leukaemia as a child.

He said: “When I was two-years-old I had Leukaemia and it was one of the doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital who saved my life.

“We are having a raffle, costing £1 a strip, to mark our opening month with all proceeds going to the hospital.

“We have some massive prizes including a holiday to France!”

Other prizes in RD Tackle’s raffle include a 36 hour session at the monument, a day’s fishing for two, a £25 gift voucher to spend at the shop, and a Koi carp sculpture for the garden courtesy of local sculptor Sophie Robbins.

The decision to open a shop came to Ryan after his business grew dramatically from its humble beginnings at car boot sales, before expanding onto a national stage through eBay.

Ryan said: “We first started selling fishing tackle on the car boot and markets every weekend and after five months of hard work and effort we managed to triple the stall size. We then starting selling on eBay as there is massive potential to grow from there.

“Then my brother came to me with the idea to get a unit, so I had a look around thought it was an ideal opportunity.

“We decided to decorate to make the unit look better and cleaner whilst doing that realised there is potential to open up as a shop and trade from there as specialist in fishing tackle.

“After six weeks of getting everything together and contacting suppliers we were able to open.

“Obviously it’s a tough business to come into and especially the time of year we have opened, but we offer great customer service, have the products the anglers need and most importantly the knowledge.”

For more information about the raffle call Ryan on 01384 261534.