A BARBER from Radcliffe has turned his fondness for flowers into international success thanks to the appliance of science.

When crimper George Foster (57) of Warwick Road is not busy in his Bolton cutting room, he is boosting flower power via the world wide web.

Mr Foster, a self-confessed fuchsia fanatic, created a website dedicated to his passion flower two years ago. Since then the site has received thousands of "hits" from all over the globe.

Mr Foster, who is treasurer of the Salford and Bolton Fuchsia Society, said the site offers tips and information on how to best care for the plants as well as the low-down on upcoming fuchsia-related events.

"It's really taken off," he said. "I get inquiries from all over the world about how to grow fuchsias. In particular, I get a lot of requests from Florida.

"The fuchsia prefers cool climates so it must be very difficult to grow them out there."

Mr Foster became keen on the flowers seven years ago when his mother-in-law bought him a hanging basket as a present.

"I have always been a keen gardener but the fuchsia fascinated me, it comes in such a wide variety of sizes and colours that it never loses its appeal."

He added: "I am also interested in computers so it seemed natural to combine the two."

After setting up the site, www.salfordboltonfuchsiasociety.co.uk, Mr Foster became pally with another fuchsia-loving nethead Julio Guri in Barcelona.

Now Mr Foster takes his laptop computer with him wherever he goes so he can constantly update his site.

"When things go quiet in the shop I get the computer out and see what is going on with the site and answer some of the many emails I am sent."