The business of a popular chimney sweep who tragically took his own life in February this year has been taken on by his partner's daughter.

Kristy Banks has vowed to continue the legacy of her mother's partner Andy Edwards, known for his company Sir Sweep a Lot, the man who encouraged her to become a chimney sweep.

Kristy said: "I started work in 2013, and at the beginning it was just a bit of extra cash, I didn't think it would go anywhere, but quite quickly I realised I wanted to make a career out of it."

She said it was hard after Andy died, but after discussing the business with her partner they decided to take it on and carry on his work.

"It was how thorough he was, he really cared," she said. "It was not about the money, so long as his customers were happy, and safe, and it was done correctly: 20 minutes or three hours, it didn't matter. He was very dedicated."

Andy supported Kristy through her training, helping her to gain the experience and qualifications needed to be a chimney sweep.

"It was fantastic," she said. "Obviously being a female in that kind of industry it was a little bit daunting but he always treated me as an equal, and was telling me I could do more and pushed me to do more things.

"Not chucking me in the deep end, but pushing me and making me do things I didn't think I could do."

Kristy added: "He trained me for three years, and at the start of this year, before everything happened, I passed my HETAS (an official body recognised by Government which approves chimney sweeps) and he supported me through all that and helped me pass."

She said: "He was a really supportive, loving person."

An inquest earlier this year heard that 42-year-old Andy had given no indication of his intentions before taking his own life at his Helston home in February, in what a coroner described as "a moment of madness."

He had served in the Royal Navy and as a guard at RNAS Culdrose before becoming a stove fitter and at the same time as starting Sir Sweep a Lot, a business which he grew to cover the whole of West Cornwall, from Penzance and Hayle up to Falmouth and Penryn.