A FORMER sex shop in Stairfoot is set to be turned into a place to ‘transform women’s lives’ after the new owner picked up the keys recently.

The Pulse and Cocktails shop on Doncaster Road, recently shut its doors to the public after more than a decade.

Local residents picketed the premises, formerly known as Direct Pleasures, when it opened in 2002.

Pulse and Cocktails, which runs a chain of ‘sex superstores’ across northern and central England, bought the shop but 36-year-old Sophia Batty, from Hoyle Mill, is hoping to give the shop a new lease of life away from its former use.

She said: “I want to use it to try and transform women’s lives. I like to empower women. I thought that there would be no better place to do that than here.”

The new salon is called Don’t Sweat It.

She added: “I’ve been a hairdresser for years but it’s all about empowerment for me.

“I like to get women out of their shells. We do a coffee morning every month where we get women talking about their feelings.

“We’re creating a network for women. Anyone can be whoever they want to be – and that’s what we’re trying to let them know.”