A COLCHESTER man, injured in an industrial accident, has become a household name in photography.

George Fossey launched a photography business after an accident at work left him with neck and spinal injuries.

His work is now sold by scores of national retailers, including Next, Matalan, Wilkinson and the Range.

Mr Fossey, 60, of Greenstead Road, set up the firm Art Photo Pro about eight years ago after winning a photography competition with a last-minute picture he took of a vase of roses.

He said: “The judge said I had a way of photographing flowers and I went away and looked at how many people were doing this, and there weren’t a great deal, so I thought there was maybe a job opportunity there.

“I made contact with a publisher and they got me into Wilkinson, where I had their bestseller for four or five years.

“On the strength of that, I formed a partnership with a friend and we opened a business at the Cowdray Centre.”

Since then the company has flourished.

Mr Fossey now works in a studio in his back garden, off Greenstead Road, and wins most of his contracts simply by word of mouth.

His latest commission was to produce shots of London ahead of the Olympic Games in the capital next year.

He said: “We have changed direction in many ways.

“Where we used to do straight photography, now we are doing lots of art-based images which look like they have almost been painted.

“It’s a matter of following the market.The pictures go everywhere.

“There are literally thousands of websites which carry one of our products. I thoroughly enjoy it.

“You can have an industrial accident and tend to think that you’re finished.

“It’s given me a new lease of life and it’s a great way of spending a day.”