ACCOUNTS manager Emma Carey looks like millions of other office workers as she sits behind her desk...

She organises the finances of a busy Internet tour operator and oversees hundreds of business transactions a day.

But at the weekend she swaps her smart office suit for a bikini and climbs into the ring with some of Britain's toughest men.

For in her spare time the 24-year-old single mum is a glamourous ring girl at the country's biggest mixed martial arts contests.

And she cannot wait for her next fight to begin.

Emma said: "Being a ring girl is totally different to my real job at Travel Masters in Chorley Old Road. I have to walk up and down holding up cards announcing each of the rounds during the contests instead of sitting at a desk.

"I was very nervous at first, but after I'd done it once I couldn't wait to do it again."

Emma, of Tonge Moor, became a regular on the competition circuit after watching her first martial arts bout with a friend.

A month ago fight organisers decided to add some glitz to a contest and invited her to step into the ring. She decided to give it a go after learning she would get free champagne and one of the best seats in the house.

Now she is waiting for her next competition -- the Ultimate Combat contest -- which will be held in Chippenham in June.

Emma, who has a six-year-old son, Jacob, said: "I had to overcome a lot of nerves, but once I was in the ring I found it really exciting.

"People think it's all blood and guts but it's not. My friends think it's great and my son says its really cool as well."

She added: "Being a single mum can be hard at times, but the moral of this story is that there are always opportunities around the corner. It's important to face your fears and try something you never dreamed you could do."