From warfare to lacy knickers -- few people can have had such a radical career shift. But it happened to Vicky Bradley, who spoke to JENNY SCOTT. . .
SHE'S ditched her tank and her Army combats for lacy underwear and sexy chemises -- and she's never been happier.
Vicky Bradley, 23, underwent the most unlikely of all career changes when she quit her life as an Army paramedic to organise parties for Ann Summers, the high street store that aims to add spice to women's love lives with naughty negligees and titillating toys.
And what's more, Vicky claims she feels as much at home in a roomful of screaming women as she did driving a tank around an Army training base.
"I've gone from being in a typical bloke's job to a typical woman's job, but I love them both," she declares.
As a teenager, Burnley-born Vicky's ambitions lay either in a career with the Army or the police.
"I was always into first aid with the St John Ambulance, so I ended up going for the medical corps in the Army," she says.
After basic training, Vicky moved to Catterick, where she met her husband, David.
"He was a lance corporal and I was a private -- he was my boss," she says. "By the age of 19 I was married, but the Army isn't really a place for couples -- you get posted to different places.
"I was out in Kosovo, for six months towards the end of the conflict. We set up a medical centre and lived in tents, treating soldiers and civilians. We saw a lot of mine blast victims, but blood's never worried me."
Sadly, problems in Vicky's marriage forced her to return to England. She and David separated and Vicky went to Tidworth to be a tank driver.
"There aren't really many women tank drivers," she admits. "At first, people were like: 'You can't do this', but I'd set my heart on driving one.
"It's nothing like driving a car -- it's got little levers that move you from side to side."
And, on the whole, Vicky got on well with her male colleagues.
"We were like a big family," she says. "Everyone was really close friends and we all looked out for each other.
"But that was also the problem -- if you were in a relationship everyone knew about you, so I decided to leave."
Her marriage beyond repair, Vicky came back to Burnley to be with her family, on the look-out for a new career.
"A sergeant's wife had held an Ann Summers party and I really enjoyed it," she recalls. "You get a group of women together and the company sends round their products and you have a really good evening. I remember thinking at the time, 'I would like to run one of these'. So when I saw an advert for an Ann Summers party organiser in the paper I decided to go for it. I've been doing it for two years now and it's brilliant."
So what exactly goes on at an Ann Summers party?
"I go out to do the parties in people's houses for a couple of hours three times a week and I come home with a sore face because I've been laughing so much," says Vicky. "I take all the kit along -- underwear, chemises and novelties. At this time of the year there are a lot of those! Then we play all these silly games, like we give everyone a balloon and the women have to pop it by bouncing up and down on top of it. The first one to pop it wins a prize.
"Things like that really get people going. Then we show them the underwear and suggest how they could seduce their man.
"Sometimes it's the older women who are the worst. They love it! And everyone makes jokes about the products, but they always end up buying them."
Vicky is now a unit organiser for the company, overseeing parties as far afield as Bolton, Bury and Rochdale.
"I can see me doing this for years to come," she says.
To book a party or join the company, call Vicky on (01282) 713918.
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