AS a teenager, an ambitious Bury schoolboy knew he would get ahead in business.

And 18 years on, Lee Monaghan has fulfilled his dream of owning and operating his own thriving hair salon.

When he was aged just 15, Lee was featured in the Bury Times after winning a youth essay competition run by the Bury Enterprise Centre.

The then Broad Oak High School pupil penned a 1,000 word article on setting up a hairdressing business. And he used his first prize of £50 as an initial source of funding to make his business dream come true.

Now, Lee and business partner Peter Donnelly are running their own Rochdale-based salon called LeeDon Hair Studio, using the first three letters of their Christian names.

Lee said: "I've been involved in hairdressing now for the past 18 years. During that time, I've worked for a number of salons including Scissors in Bury.

"I eventually opened my first salon in May 1996 in Rochdale. This new studio is not too far away from where my first business was.

"I'm very pleased that after winning the essay competition all these years ago that I did fulfil my goal of opening my own salon. And I've still got the Bury Times cutting after all these years. "The essay was all about opening my own hairdressing business. Even although I was aged 15 at the time, it was something I wanted to do. And the fact that I've done it all these years later is just brilliant."