A labour of love has turned into a flourishing business - in a tale that's guaranteed to pull on the harp strings.

Hands on Harps, based in Stroud, makes harps and provides online lessons. They are also currently offering free taster sessions.

Creag Louttit-Vermaat and his wife Morwenna, who live in Woodchester, set up the business in 2013 after they returned from busking, first round Europe and then the rest of the world.

Morwenna, who teaches harp, was accompanied by Creag on guitar. She didn't want to take her harp with her on the trek in case it got damaged, so Creag said he'd make one for her.

Creag said: "I made Morwenna a harp for Christmas and that harp survived round the world and still sounded great and so that was how I got started."

He now employs one other person and another part time, and his wife home educates their two young boys and gives lessons. She is a harper (a harpist is someone who plays in an orchestra) and has produced a series of online lessons.

Creag added: "We wanted to come up with a harp in the traditional style that was designed with the beginner in mind, that was easy to play and affordable."

They've now sold harps to over 370 people all over the world. The basic student model starts at £650, or £35 month with a £100 deposit. The top of the range model sells for £1,350, or £60 a month.

The range of harps includes the innovative 'rainbow harp' which has coloured strings which match up with colour-coded music sheets.

The idea came about because Morwenna is dyslexic and when she was learning as a youngster sheet music was just 'dots and squiggles' to her. The colour coding makes it much easier.

The couple are now offering a hundred hours of free lessons to encourage more people to take up the ancient-styled instrument. You can find out more by clicking here.