WHEN Helen Connolly left Kingston-upon- Thames University with a degree in French and economics, she never guessed she would end up running her own fast-growing business.

She joined RTC Safety Surfaces, Barnoldswick, as a £50-a-week marketing assistant and is now MD of an operation with a £2million turnover.

"I came on a 'Graduates into Industry' scheme," said Helen. "It wasn't what I had anticipated doing, but it was the first job opportunity that came my way."

When Helen joined the company in 1995, it had been in business for two years. She was the first office employee and found herself able to learn all aspects of the business.

RTC is now the UK market leader in designing and installing safety surfaces in children's playgrounds.

Helen runs the business with her brother, Paul Cahill, who is director in charge of sales. Together, they bought out company founder Steve Hall and have taken the company to its pre-eminent position.

"We are growing about 50 per cent year on year," said Paul. "Over the past 18 months, we have doubled turnover and increased profitability. Staff numbers have grown from two in the early days to close to 30."

A recent contract worth more than £500,000 with one of the country's largest suppliers of playground equipment has underpinned RTC's position as UK number one.

Making playgrounds safer for children has come a long way since local authorities would put sand or bark pits around swings and climbing frames.

RTC's 'Playscape' is a rubber and resin composite which is mixed on site. In simple terms, children 'bounce' off the ground. The higher the play equipment, the deeper the surface.

Teams of installers from Barnoldswick work throughout the country on contracts that vary in size from £1,500 to £60,000. A typical project takes between three and four days.

According to Paul, the market for safety surfaces is expanding year on year, fuelled in part by the growing 'claims culture'.

"Society is getting more and more litigious," he explained. "Anyone in charge of play equipment such as a school, local authority or a pub, is likely to be sued if a child is injured. The old days of having a layer of concrete underneath swings are long gone."

The Playscape system also allows for an infinite range of colours and patterns to be used. Playgrounds have been installed with themes ranging from Treasure Island to outer space and schools often ask for road safety features to be designed into the scheme.

"We offer a free design service or we are happy to work from other people's ideas," said Paul. "In many schools, children will design their own playground."

The company's rapid expansion has forced Helen and Paul to look for larger premises away from their base at the Skipton Road Business Park, Barnoldswick.

However, they have no intention of moving out of the area and have promised to remain in the Burnley and Pendle area.

"We have built the business on a reputation for quality," said Paul. "We are seen as a company that goes above and beyond the call of duty and that is all down to the commitment of the work-force."

Also in the pipeline are plans to open an branch in the South of England to service the growing demand for its services.

Helen and Paul are also looking at other applications for its safety surfaces. At the Turnberry Gold Club, all the paths around the course have been relaid to protect the golfers' spikes and to cut down on noise from trolleys. A football club has also put down a safety surface in its tunnel to prevent players from slipping on their studs.

Thanks to the RTC website, it is now receiving enquiries from Europe, which presents further opportunities for expansion.

Paul's arrival at the company - he sold a successful IT business to buy into RTC - was the catalyst for expansion.

"We had really been trading on our reputation," said Helen. "We were growing largely through repeat business, but I wanted to expand the company further which needed us to go out there and sell ourselves.

"Paul had a track record in business and he seemed the ideal candidate."

So, just how easy is it to work as a brother and sister team? "We do clash sometimes," admitted Paul. "But, in the main, our skills are very complementary.

"I come from a sales background, whereas Helen is more production-focused. I am more of a risk-taker while Helen is more conservative. Between us, we seem to have found the right chemistry."