A FORMER Northwich Rugby Union player who set up a business from his garage has plans to expand into the town’s old fire station.

Bryan Johnson, 47, who set up clothing business Buccaneer Promotions plans to move the thriving business from Moss Farm to the Chesterway station by Easter.

Bryan, who founded the business a decade ago and sells schoolwear, sportswear and workwear, believes the move to the heart of the town will result in the business growing still further with the establishment of Northwich Schoolwear.

He said: “It was tough at the start but through hard work the business started to grow.

“Now we’re turning over almost £300,000 a year.

“The growth has been huge but I know there’s so much potential to grow even further.

“We have run out of space at Moss Farm and the fire station has everything we need to grow the business.”  The station, which is thought to date from The Second World War, was used by the fire service until 1973, when the present station off London Road was opened.  Bryan said: “The one thing we intend to do is to keep the character of the old building including installing a fireman’s pole and have also been in touch with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service to ask them to provide memorabilia, which we plan to put on the walls.

 “The location on the one-way system is perfect for us and we intend to provide off-road parking for our customers to ensure nearby residents are not impacted by our move to the site.”

The firm has had the support of the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub which has provided small  business support Bryan added: “With the help of the hub we have also looked at what we can do digitally to grow the business and to provide an online presence “The hub has been a fantastic help and I’m excited about what we can achieve with its help in the future.”