SIX months ago Trevor Bennett was running a specialist shop on Halliwell Road, Bolton, but now he has traded his real business for a virtual one.

Undeterred by the recent Internet boom and bust, his e-commerce venture is thriving as customers from around the world order from his online store.

Clients from as far away as China and America are now surfing his Champion Toys site and buying children's sit-in battery powered cars and bikes.

Mr Bennett said: "We have worked very hard to get the site up and online. We took great care in the design and wanted to make it as user friendly as possible."

It allows people, with the touch of a button, to look at products they will not have seen in the shops, have their order made up and shipped directly from the warehouse.

The company imports the machines from Spanish companies Famosa and Injusa toys and is hoping to draw more clients in the USA and attract interest from Europe.

Mr Bennett said: "We are getting hits from across the globe, so I am constantly in discussion with our partners in Spain as to how we can improve.

"At the moment we are looking at making the voltage on the cars' battery chargers suitable for parts of Europe."

Mr Bennett added: "We are doing much better than the shop ever did.

"I have just taken on some new employees and I'm training them at the moment."

Champion Toys can be found at www.championtoys.co.uk