A mother and actress has turned inventor to come up with a new kind of snowsuit – and needs your help.

Tara Byrne, a married mother of two in her 30s from Winchmore Hill, came up with the idea for a coat for her two-year-old son after learning it is unsafe for children to wear large jackets in car seats.

Her “Huggle Me Close” snowsuit uses a breathable mesh to create a guide for the proper positioning and prevention of overly loose straps.

Ms Byrne has patented her idea, made contact with manufacturers and begun a Kickstarter to fund it – despite having no business background in her family, outside of her husband running a murder mystery party company.

She said: “I looked and nothing like this exists, nothing is sold anywhere. For your child to be safe in their seat you need to take their coat off and cover them in a blanket, a pain if it is cold or wet.

“I did some sketches of my idea, it went from there. I now have a prototype with Turkish manufacturers.

“I bought an old snowsuit from a charity shop, cut it up and reworked it. It looked terrible but it works in theory.

“I couldn’t get an in to sell it to shops, then I was told I shouldn’t sell anything without a patent, so I went there. Really, I have got to this stage almost by accident.

“All of a sudden I have gone from being an actress and a mum to being a kid’s wear manufacturer. I had no idea where to start, but now I am here I am excited.”

Things were going well for Huggle Me Close when it passed a crash test six weeks ago, but now Ms Byrne has hit a brick wall of her own – trying to sell a snowsuit in summer.

She said: “I am trying to raise money through Kickstarter pre-orders, and I have had no negative feedback yet. But it is like trying to sell sun cream in January.

“People have to buy it now so it can be made then delivered in October, but it is hard to persuade people of that. I am still confident it can work however.”

At the time of writing with 24 days to go, the snowsuit is only five per cent towards its target amount, having raised £923 out of a goal of £17,500.

You can see and back the product at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hugglemeclose/huggle-me-close-car-seat-safe-baby-wear?ref=nav_search.