MELANIE Murrell was diagnosed with breast cancer completely out of the blue last September.

She was just 37 at the time.

Move forward nine months and she has now opened a new business, No More Pests, in South Street, Lancing.

She’s looking to the future with optimism and believes the shop can be a great success.

She said: “We used to operate out of a warehouse in King Edward Close, Worthing, and much of it was online.

“Then came the diagnosis and the business had to take a bit of a back seat as I was being treated.

“It all started with nothing more than an itch then I found a lump.

“I was told by the hospital they were pretty sure it was nothing, but then I found out that it was cancer.

“I had surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy and I’m delighted now to be in remission.

“I am due another scan in September.

“There is no doubt that having cancer has changed my outlook on life.

“I see things differently now and tend to focus more on what is important in life.”

Melanie carried on working as best she could during her illness but it wasn’t easy.

She said: “In February we moved the business out of the warehouse.

“Business hadn’t been great and I was able to work from home for a while as much of our trade is done online.”

The came the opportunity to move onto the High Street and open in Lancing, opposite Asda.

She said: “The site here used to be a cafe and cinema and we are really pleased with it.

“It feels like we looked everywhere and where we have ended up is ideal for us.

“There is plenth of passing traffic and the footfall is good from early indications.

“It was the best possible site we could find on the high street having looked around so much.”

No More Pests sells bird and pest control products.

Melanie, now 38, said: “We’ve been running online but we wanted to have a presence in the high street.

“A lot of our customers are older people who may have limited or no access to the internet.

“I feel there is absolutely nothing to lose from this new venture because No More Pests is still online.

“It has been hard of course but confidence is high that with time and effort it will be a success.

“The initial response from the public has been very good.”

Away from the office and Melanie enjoys playing hockey and cycling but the key focus at the moment is achieving success.

She said: “At No More Pests we are experts in the field of pest control, offering free advice and offering the UK’s largest product range of pest control products.

“Customer service is of prime importance to the team and we will do our best to make sure you find solutions quickly and cost effectively, taking the hassle out of your pest control.

“We aim to despatch any order placed before 3pm on the same day, subject to stock.”