A former teacher turned artist has spoken about why she switched from a stable career to do what she loves.

Jane E Richmond from Burnley is now a successful sculptor after switching from working in the teaching field with ethnic communities.

She also appeared on BBC show Home Is Where The Heart Is, a programme where artists go head to head to design something for a mystery buyer.

Miss Richmond designed a sculpture depicting strong women and was chosen in the end by the mystery buyer.

She said: “I lost my friend and mum about 13 years ago, so it made me stop and think about what I have always wanted to do and that was art.

“It was when my brother got me clay one Christmas, so I bought a kiln and started making ceramics.

“Financially, I was quite safe so I thought I would give it a go, because I had a stable backup.”

Miss Richmond saw an advert for the BBC show Home Is Where The Heart Is, and got featured on an episode.

Her feminism piece won over the homeowner and this helped her confidence.

She said: “Winning the commission made me feel more confident that I had made the right decision in changing careers at the time I did.”

Miss Richmond decided to swap careers at 54-years-old, going from a stable career to finally realising her dream of becoming a sculptor.

She said: “I was a teacher of cohesion for Lancashire County Council until 2000. I was the only person doing that in 1992 and even went to Pakistan and worked with people in the minority families.

“I was always a career girl and threw myself into education and loved my job as I was always interested in different cultures.

“I thought if I am going to work with them then I should know more about them.

“There were not many ethnically diverse children in Lancashire schools, and it was my job to prepare them and the schools for this change, because of course the children would move around.”

On her trip to Pakistan, she got to learn the background of the families she worked with.

She said: “We flew to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and the Himalayas, and It was beautiful. It was the best and worst experience of my life because it was so different.

“I was there for a month and in a way it did inspire my love of arts and cultures.”