The owner of a beauty salon is offering her business as a place where mothers can breastfeed their babies after her sister received abuse while out in public.

Kay Willmott, who owns Elle Belle's Beauty Studio in Dereham, came up with the idea so mothers who may feel uncomfortable breastfeeding out in public will have somewhere they can go.

Any mum is able to walk in and use the salon if they wish and there is no requirement to receive any treatment while they are there.

Mrs Willmott said: 'My sister was breastfeeding her daughter at the leisure centre and one of the other dads was making abusive comments and so she stopped.

'She brought her back to the salon to feed her here. I thought it would be a good to idea to offer the salon as a place for mums as it is so easy to get to in the town.

'I think it's becoming more socially acceptable but there is still a lot of people who I think judge mums for doing it which is just really wrong.'

Mrs Willmott, who is mum to an 11-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son, posted the idea on Facebook, which she said has become the most liked post on the business' page and has received a positive reaction from the community.

As a result of the post, a few mothers have already been into the salon, located in Aldiss Court, to use it as a place to breastfeed their children.

Mrs Willmott added: 'I definitely think there is still a problem. There shouldn't be because it's natural.

'We've had a really good response already so far. A lot of us here are mums so we know about the problems they can face.'

Any mother who visits the salon will be able to use either the sofa area or go into a back room if they would like more privacy.

Are you running a local initiative in the Dereham, Fakenham, Reepham or Wells area? Get in touch with our reporter Daniel Bennett by emailing daniel.bennett@archant.co.uk