A Dereham man has celebrated a decade of sole trading, as his mechanics business reaches its tenth anniversary.

Danny Bracey, 43, opened D.B. Autos, on December 1, 2007.

The business, on Rashes Green, Toftwood, has been operating consistently for the past decade.

And Mr Bracey puts its success down to his hard work.

A former Neatherd School pupil, who grew up in Dereham, he left school at 16 with no exams, and took on an apprenticeship at a local garage.

He worked in the mechanics trade for several years before starting his own business.

He said: 'If you've got a skill, and you see people benefitting from that skill, then why not use it and benefit from it yourself.

'Why work for someone, and see what they're making out of you?

'Just have a go yourself.'

He encouraged people to take the plunge into owning their own business, and said: 'If you speak to a lot of people, a lot of people would like to work for themselves but its a hard thing to do. I've had one day off sick in ten years.'

But he added that he enjoyed his work, and explained: 'I like working with cars because every day can be different.

'I'm putting a clutch in a car today; one day I might be servicing a car; one day doing repairs, so there is a real variation.'

Mr Bracey lives in Dereham with his wife, who works in a school. They have two children: daughter Morgan, 13, and son Jensen, 10, who Mr Bracey hopes will want to carry on D.B. Autos.

He said: 'He's keen at the moment to carry on the business when he's older but that could quite easily change.

He added: 'I wouldn't recommend to anyone to go into this if they weren't passionate - its not the best paid job.

'It can be a struggle. I've got my tax bill in February, so I'll be working to the end of the year to cover that.

'It's not massively busy at the moment in the motor trade. Its slowed up a bit.

'You've got to be very serious about what you're doing.

'Any overheads you can keep down are good. I haven't even got a card machine as that's an extra cost.'

But, he said, there are benefits to solo working: 'You've got no one to fall out with, no bickering or backstabbing. When you're done, you're done, and you can shut the door and go home.'