A BABY girl from Farnworth has found national fame at the age of 18 months - on the label of a top selling medicine for colic!

The family of little Jessica Barlow say they got the shock of their lives when they spotted her face on bottles at the Bolton town centre branch of Boots.

Amanda Firth says she was stunned but delighted when she saw her niece's cherub face smiling at her from bottles of 'Woodward's Colic Drops' at the chemist's store.

Amanda, from Chorley, a Customer Care Manager for mail order company, GUS, said: "It was my husband who saw it first and, to be honest, I had to look twice. I couldn't believe it.

"I stared at it for about 30 seconds and then just said 'oh my God, it's her'!"

Jessica's mother, 18-year-old Heather Barlow, of Watson Street, Farnworth, signed her daughter up to Leigh-based Dimples Model and Casting Agency in September 1997.

The agency arranged for Jessica to take part in a photo shoot for 'Woodwards', a top selling brand name of worldwide healthcare company Seton's, in November 1997.

At just four months old, she proved to be a true professional in front of the camera and smiled throughout the session.

"It was really exciting because we had never done anything like this before," said Heather, who also works for GUS.

"I decided to sign Jessica up to a modelling agency because I thought it would be a great opportunity for her and she did really well."

"We had no idea when her picture would be used," said Heather. "We were really surprised."

Despite her daughter's success, Heather has decided to put stardom on hold: "I think it would be better to wait until she gets a bit older before she does anything like this again, then we'll see," she said.

In the meantime, Jessica's winning smile will be gracing thousands of homes across the country, although her popularity in Bolton could be difficult to match.

"Everyone who knows her rushed out to buy loads of bottles as soon as we heard," Heather laughed. "We are all just so proud of her."

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