ENTREPRENEUR Mike Sharp is looking for funds to get his fruity idea off the ground.

Seven years ago Mike, 32, from Redhouse, had the idea of developing his own version of Top Trumps, which would help youngsters to learn about the importance of fruit and vegetables.

Now Veggie Trumps is ready to go into print and the marketing manager is collecting funds to produce the first copies of the game.

Top Trumps is a much-loved game among youngsters where each player is dealt cards with different strengths which they use to try and win the whole set.

Over the years there have been many categories, ranging from motor cars to mythical creatures. Mike’s version will highlight different fruit and vegetables, which he hopes will increase young people’s understanding of their healthy properties.

Each item will be a different character and players will compete on different factors, such as the amount of vitamin C in certain fruit and veg.

He said: “I was round at a friend’s house and his young son didn’t know what an avocado was. I grew up in the north of England so we didn’t really have exotic fruits then.

“These days I thought kids knew all about fruit and veg with all the coverage on television but that’s not the case.

“I developed the game on the back of that. It will help to teach children about the produce as well as increasing their social skills.

“My dream is to see children playing the game or see it on a shelf shop.”

In order to get the idea up and running, Mike has set up a Kick Starter Page where he is hoping to raise £8,000.

People can pledge differing amounts of money, which will be used to print off copies of Veggie Trumps so Mike can test its popularity.

He said: “I can use the first copies to send to schools and teachers so I can see how it’s received.

“Every week we get several messages from people wanting to find out more so I am confident it will be a success.

“If it goes down well the next stage is to look for a distributor. Depending on how much people pledge they get something like a copy of the cards or limited edition character cards.

“We hit 26 per cent of our target at the weekend with a month still to go so I’m hopeful.”

The deadline for the Kickstarter appeal, which can be found at www.kickstarter.com/projects/1896991152/veggie-trumps, is the end of August.

For more information on the game visit www.veggietrumps.com