Teacher Noreen Roache had always harboured a dream to live by the sea.

So when the fortysomething decided to quit her job and the London rat race, she intended to take early retirement and put her feet up.

But now, almost three years after quitting the daily grind of the capital, Noreen could hardly be accused of taking things easy.

Instead of spending lazy days pottering around the garden, Noreen and her daughter Lisa run a successful company selling everything from organic baby milk to organic champagne.

Their idea for The Organic Baby Company, now based in the Enterprise Centre, Eastbourne, came after Lisa gave birth to her first child, Conor.

Noreen said: "I'd always been a bit of a chameleon when it came to jobs. I've been a pharmacist, teacher, and worked with children with special needs.

"I enjoyed my work but had always wanted to move to the seaside near my daughter and take the easy life - a bit of gardening and things - it's strange how things work out."

Lisa, a former nanny, wanted Conor to wear cotton nappies instead of disposable ones so started using a service which delivered clean ones and took away the dirties.

Noreen said: "As a family, we had always been concerned about the environment and healthy eating.Lisa didn't want to use disposables, but the cotton nappy service she used wasn't that good.

"One day over a cup of tea she commented that she could do it better herself and we looked at each other. You could say it was a plot hatched over the kitchen table!"

The Organic Baby Company was launched as a nappy laundry service in 1998. The mother and daughter team delivered sterile nappies to babies all over Sussex and then collected the dirties for £30 every four weeks.

Lisa had not been able to breastfeed Conor and had found it virtually impossible to find organic baby milk for very young babies.

So when their baby business started to boom, the pair decided to branch out and start selling organic food and products.

Noreen said: "You're not allowed to advertise organic formula milk because of the breast is best theory. That's fine, but not everyone can breastfeed.

"We searched high and low for milk for Conor, he was the first organic baby we'd known hence the name of the company."

That side of the venture has proved so popular they have recently sold the successful nappy service to concentrate on running the only organic shop in Eastbourne.

Along with the baby milk, their range now includes eco-friendly washing powder, chocolate, training pants, swimwear and essential oils.

Recently they have also introduced a line of organic wines, beers, cider and even an organic champagne at £16 a pop.

The shop is supported by the East Sussex Recycling Consortium which works to encourage the wider use of biodegradable packaging and cotton nappies.

The consortium has been working with midwives, health visitors and the National Childbirth Trust to promote reusable nappies.

It has also just carried out a series of events and promotions as part of National Real Nappy Week.

But even though Noreen and Lisa have sold on their original business, nappies continue to be a big part of their lives because for the past few weeks Noreen has been busy running the shop on her own, with a bit of help from husband, David, and son-in-law, Robin, while Lisa gave birth to her third child.

And like Conor, two-and-a-half, and Karis, 18 months,

little Talia will be carrying on the tradition of being an organic baby.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.