A FLORIST found she had just the ticket to create a unique thank you to her customers who have supported her first year of trading.

More used to seeing the trains coming and going at Great Malvern Railway Station, commuters have stopped in their tracks to take pictures of a dress with a train of a different kind in Lucy Jones' shop window.

Creative Mrs Jones has collected discarded train tickets to create the flowing gown which is displayed at Shrinking Violet inside the train station.

After suffering a brain haemorrhage and a brain aneurysm in December 2006, Mrs Jones said the only thing she remembered was her dream of becoming a florist.

Despite doctors warning her not to be disappointed if she could not achieve it, the 58-year-old is celebrating a year of running the shop and has created the dress as a thank you to customers.

She said: "Doctors had warned me. They said it was a wonderful idea but not to be disappointed if I couldn't do it but I was determined to do it and we are still here.

"I wanted to say thank you to all the customers who have visited us since we first opened.

"It's been therapeutic because I'm creative and that's why I decided to make the dress.

"I had the idea in the ticket office. At Christmas they didn't have a tree so I made them one out of tickets but I had lots of leftover tickets.

"I thought "I'm not throwing these away" and decided to reuse them."

Using a mannequin, Mrs Jones spent between five and six hours making the dress in between serving people in the shop.

The delicate design means that it is not suitable for someone to wear but she said she based the style on glamorous dresses worn by actresses at awards ceremonies.

"We have lots of children telling their parents to come look at it and people say they've never seen anything like it before.

"I've had people ask to try it on and others ask if I wear it but I have to tell them that it is not study enough."

Mrs Jones trained to become a florist at Pershore College.

As well as flowers, she also sells gift cards of paintings she created at the Acquired Brain Injuries Educational Services, South Worcestershire College, Albert Road North and supplies floral arrangements to her son's restaurant Menu Gordon Jones, in Bath.