Top-secret military weapons engineer who quit job to open hospital for injured dolls insists figures are 'not creepy'

An engineer who designed top-secret military weapons quit her job to open up a hospital for injured dolls

Lesley Edwards, who moved from London to Bournemouth, is celebrating 20 years of fixing up porcelain figurines.

She said she gets really “wound up” when people think dolls are creepy after “watching Chucky and Annabelle in horror movies”.

The 65-year-old even got her husband Mike involved and he left his computing job, which "involved something to do with space satellites", to join her venture.

The engineer first found out about doll repair when she was in London, working long hours on a DLR project, and wanted a class to occupy her evenings.

Mrs Edwards, who has also worked in the aerospace, oil, and waste treatment industry said: "I got into it purely by accident.

“I wanted some time away from my day job and was looking to join a sugarcraft [cake decorating] class, but when I saw a doll repair class in Poplar, I thought - why not?"

After attending a few workshops, she discovered she was quite good at mending and enjoyed the problem-solving element of the task. It also brought back childhood memories of fixing things with her engineer father.

“My long-suffering husband used to spend our weekends feeding my hobby and getting supplies,” she added.

“We thought other people might have the same trouble, and that is when we decided to open a hospital for dolls.

“In the past, every major town in the county had one. Little girls were given a doll and they would treasure it as people didn’t have the same disposable income back then and people needed somewhere when they broke.

“Nowadays, everything is mass-produced."

The husband and wife team said you can count on two hands the number of doll repair centres that are open today.

A lot of their work at Ellie's Doll Workshop is fixing botched attempts at repairs by people who they say are not in the business.

"One of the things that I get worked up about is that everyone thinks dolls like Chucky and Annabell are weird,” she said.

“I get really wound up that they are used as props in horror films as they are designed to be played with by a child. They are not creepy."

Mrs Edwards revealed she does not have a doll collection at home but has kept the first one she ever made.

She explained she is more attached to the process of repairing and fixing rather than to the toys themselves.

One of the most exciting dolls she had to fix was a doll that Queen Victoria gave to a staff member's child. She said it was like touching and being part of history.

Speaking about how her whole life was changed by an evening class, she said: "It’s a shame so many classes are now geared towards academic subjects."

The couple, who have been married for 35 years will appear at the Doll and Teddy Fair at The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham on March 22.