RACHEL Ward was forced out of work when she was involved in two accidents in the space of two and a half years.

The first happened in April 2003 while she was employed as a consultant working alongside the prison and probation service, but could not continue due to the extent of her injuries.

She was so badly injured that she needed surgery to her spine and it finally led to her leaving work and turning her interest in photography into a full time job.

She said: "I was really low when I was off work and hated not being able to do anything.

"The car accidents left me incapacitated with my back for a couple of years."

The former English Martyrs pupil added: "I loved my job and hated not working, but I knew I would be unable to get back to work for quite a long time so I left."

Rachel, 34, decided to turn a part-time hobby as a photographer into a full-time business and is now her own boss.

The mum of two now has a studio in Brierton Lane offering portrait, commercial, press and wedding photography.

Rachel, who has two daughters, studied photography at college and has kept up her hobby ever since. She said: "I continued to go on digital photography courses since moving from film and have been taking photos for 18 years now.

"I have covered weddings, Christenings, rock concerts and all sorts, but had always had my full-time job and hadn't really thought about going into business until my husband encouraged me to think about it."
Rachel opened her studio, Captured Expressions, two months ago in the former Brierton Lane Police Station across the road from the lower school. The building is owned by her cousin Simon Hunter.

She said: "It was a derelict place when Simon bought it, but it has been done up beautifully and feels so warm and welcoming now.

"It is full of laughter as we have a lot of families and children in the studio, it makes me happy to come to work on a morning."

Rachel recently photographed Hartlepool couple Jo Rowell and Tony Cox in their 1940s themed wedding at the Town Hall Theatre, which appeared in the Mail on September 17.

She said: "That was a fantastic day, even I got dressed up in 40s clothes to take the photographs.

"They had obviously spent years organising this wedding as the Town Hall looked amazing. There were parachutes hanging from the ceiling and British and American flags everywhere.

"I like to wander round and take some off- the-cuff shots and was really pleased with how I captured the day.

"The pictures were even published in a number of national newspapers and magazines, the couple loved it."

Rachel, who lives on the Bishop Cuthbert estate in Hartlepool, added: "I absolutely love my new job and am so glad my husband talked me into following my dream of a career in photography.

"Mind you, I could have done without the car accidents to shunt me into action."