The popular postal flower firm started life from a small cart in 1989 in Mansfield's Four Seasons shopping centre. But they have since become one of the nation's biggest flower companies from their base on Hazelford Way in the village.

Delighted managing director Danielle Turner puts the success down to the personal touch provided by a team of dedicated workers.

"The size of the business over the years has changed considerably," she said. "The five orders a week that we did at the start is now several thousand orders a week but the heart of the business is exactly the same.

"We are about delivering great-quality flowers that make our customers all over the UK happy. We offer a fantastic, friendly service that means our customers love to deal with us again and again. It's just like our first flower stall but a bit bigger.

"Our friendly and experienced sales team are on hand to take calls and meet individual needs. Many of our employees have been with Bunches for several years and we value their input and hard work in the growth of the company.

"Since Bunches were founded, we have delivered more than two-and-a-half million bouquets throughout the UK and for every bouquet that is received, a smile is created. So over the years, that's a lot of happiness."

Bunches became a flowers-by-post company in January 1990 and operated out of a factory in Kirkby, with orders being taken over the Post Office counter after a business link-up. The orders were then telephoned through to the Bunches office.

In 1992, Bunches expanded to all Post Offices nationwide and the direct mail side of the business began with huge success.

The company outgrew their original base in 2001 and moved to purpose-built headquarters, complete with state-of-the-art sales offices and production and dispatch space, in Newstead.

They recently completed a £1 million extension to double their production-floor space to cope with an increase in demand.