Silver lining for Kate as she gets her dream job

KATE QUATE'S life was "shattered" when rioters destroyed her employer's fancy dress shop. She feared she would have to return to her parents' house in Glasgow.

The 22-year-old aspiring costume designer was devastated when her boss at Party Superstores in Clapham Junction said he could not offer her any more work.

But after an article about Miss Quate's plight in the Evening Standard last month, the owner of London's largest costumiers came to the rescue.

Now Miss Quate works in Shaftesbury Avenue at 171-year-old Angels Fancy Dress, a business she dreamed of joining as a student.

Miss Quate said: "I had heard of Angels while I was studying - it was mentioned in a lot of the books. I applied for a job there when I first arrived in London last year but I never heard back."

Tim Angel, who is the fifth generation of his family to run the company, read about her after the riots and decided to offer her a job interview. Mr Angel, 60, said he felt "sick to the teeth" that people had lost their jobs.

Miss Quate said: "I had the interview on Friday and I started work on Monday. I have to keep pinching myself to remind myself that what has happened is real. I can't believe it."