A crime writer who switched careers after being made redundant is celebrating after one of her stories was picked for publication.

Paula Readman, 54, of Grooms Lane, Silver End, took early retirement in 2010, when the electronics company she worked for in Witham needed to make cuts.

She decided to take redundancy after her husband, Russell Sansom, encouraged her to follow her dream of becoming a writer.

Now her story Rat Trap has been selected as one of 12 short stories in a new collection called Crime After Crime.

Full story in this week's Times.