A WOMAN who suffered a nasty fall on ice has designed and launched a range of micro crampons to keep fellow Cumbrians on their feet.

Staveley entrepreneur Tiffany Solender has started retailing her own brand of Pogu spikes for walkers and fell runners.

The 33-year-old spent a year working on designs and testing them in the Lake District.

She had her first batches shipped back from China to be retailed online from the business’s base in Staveley Mill Yard.

The stainless steel devices fit on to trainers and walking boots and, according to Mrs Solender and husband Neil, 35, allows people to run on ice.

Customers from Alaska, France, Germany and Italy have already placed their orders for the £45 kit, along with walkers from across the UK.

Mrs Solender, a former-London businesswoman who previously ran a smoothie drink business, said: “It was the snow up in the north that convinced us we should design our own crampons.

I was waiting for a bus in Staveley village when I fell over on ice. I decided I had had enough.

“We were going skiing that year and noticed there really wasn’t much choice out there and all the shops in town had sold out of crampons, so we really struggled to get out.

“I’m still nervous about the launch but the spikes have already started to sell really well, and we’ve already had really good reviews.”

The husband and wife team relocated to the Lake District from London three years ago after being attracted to the landscape.

The pair can now be seen walking their dogs and sporting their grippy gear in all weathers.

They said they would consider retailing their brand through high street shops in the future but were currently selling Pogu spikes direct to the customer from Staveley and online.