A Solihull eye surgeon has set her sights on a new business venture which is already protecting children throughout the country.

Dr Julie Diem Le hit upon the new idea when she was trying to buy sunglasses for her infant niece. Julie found that although retailers are very good at providing creams for children's skin, eye protection from UV light was almost impossible to find.

Having seen hundreds of young people with sun damaged eyes in her professional career, she set up Zoobug, with the help of Birmingham Business Link and NatWest Business Banking, to design and manufacture specialist sunglasses for babies through to 15-year-olds.

In addition to creating sunglasses that protect children's eyes from UV light, Zoobug offers designs that it believes children will want to wear, including a product line featuring characters such as "Sunny" the Camel and "Pinky" the elephant.

The toys are worn on the child's wrist or school bag strap to help remind them to wear their sunglasses.

After leaving her role as an eye surgeon at the NHS, Julie launched last July at a series of exhibitions and has now received orders from such High Street names as Selfridges, Daisy & Tom and Dollond & Aitchison.

Zoobug is also the official eyewear for the British Junior Surf Team.

Although Julie's business started in her garage, she has just established a London office to be close to some of the country's main sunglasses retailers.

Julie said: "It was a really difficult decision to leave hospital medicine, however I am very passionate about the need to protect young eyes from the sun.

"It has been a real rollercoaster of a time setting up Zoobug, but the response from businesses and clients has been fantastic.

"I'm delighted about the success and the fact that people are becoming aware of the need to protect young eyes from the sun.

"I would like to thank everyone who has helped me especially the team at Birmingham Business Link and my NatWest business manager, Russell Shorter, who has been fantastic."

Mr Shorter said: "I know that Julie had to make a big decision when she left the NHS, but it is great to see how her passion for this important product is turning into a business success."