A Sutton Coldfield mother has launched a range of clothes for children in an attempt to avoid the "gangster" styles in place on the high street.

The Guy Collection is a set of clothing for boys aged two to eight, designed and manufactured at home and named for the young son of designer Donna Baker.

Mrs Baker was a claims loss adjuster before giving it up to take to the road with Guy Clothing. She said: "After Guy was born, I found it increasingly difficult to find clothes that I liked for him.

"The colours were often so dull and the designs very 'street’ or 'gang’ orientated and in my opinion children should be children for as long as possible, not mini adults.

"I always feel also that the boyswear is treated as the area to be given least priority against women/men and girls designs.

"In late 2006 we decided to look further in to creating a brand for boys and began by advertising for a designer to establish if we could design a range worthy of production. Our designer started working with us in February 2007 although the designs are strongly influenced by myself looking for a bright fresh look in every item."

She added that with no previous fashion or textile experience the first year or so in business had been a steep learning curve but very interesting and rewarding.

"We are looking at moving Guy on as not only a boyswear brand but a one-stop shop and reference/meeting place for mums of boys from 0-12."