A mum who sold more than £1.6 million worth of holidays from her living room in 12 months has scooped a national award.

Francesca Barone, from Burgess Hill, is one of 600 homeworkers in Britain employed by Future Travel, a large independent retailer.

She set up her own sub-business - classiccruisecollection.co.uk - specialising in cruise holidays, and gets commission every time she makes a sale.

This week she was named Homeworker of the Year in the 2007 Agent Achievement Awards, which is voted for and judged by people in the travel and leisure industry.

The 46-year-old puts her success down to "a serious amount of hard work, a loyal client base and good oldfashioned customer service".

She said: "There are a lot of travel agents out there who are not prepared to give the same levels of customers service that I do. I make sure all my clients get what they want."

Francesca started working from home in January last year - having worked as a travel agent for the previous 20 years - and has never looked back.

"It's absolutely wonderful. You need the right mentality and you have to be very motivated because if you don't make any sales you don't get paid.

"But the main advantage is when the phone isn't ringing all day you can find time to do things around the house that need to be done - or just sit in the garden!"

Francesca is also celebrating her engagement to fellow homeworker Andrew Boyd after he proposed following a Future Travel conference in Barbados last year.

The couple have now set up home together running a travel business with a combined turnover of more than £3 million. Francesca said: "It has been a very busy year for both of us and we've certainly got a lot to celebrate.

"Joining Future Travel has changed my life and I'm absolutely thrilled to be recognised for all our hard work. Working from home is rewarding and challenging and we're looking forward to another successful 12 months."