SUPPORT from TV Dragon Theo Paphitis is helping bring a North East craft company to an international audience.

Vicky Lloyd, who gave up her career as an engineer to start NE Day crafts in 2009, won a recommendation from the entrepreneur in his Twitter-based Small Business Sunday Club.

It is the second time in recent weeks that a North East firm has won the accolade, which involved Paphitis tweeting details of the business to his 144,000 followers on the site.

In November, Gateshead-based Bespoke Radio was bombarded with website hits after being selected for the honour.

Vicky, who lives in Darlington, said: “I couldn’t believe it when Theo Paphitis chose me.

“I was over the moon and delighted to get his approval of my business. It really encouraged me even more to drive the products further.”

The mum-of-two started the business after when she spotted a gap in the market when looking for activities for her own children.

She now supplies craft materials for events across the region, such as fairs and festivals.

Vicky said: “I was brought up in the era of Blue Peter and was always making things,” said Vicky.

“I guess this is a modern-day version of that. Children start so young these days using computers and I wanted to offer an alternative where they could tackle something traditional, colourful and fun.”