The Government backed Awards, now in their fourth year, are supported by Jobcentre Plus and The Prince's Trust. The Awards recognise men and women who have overcome various barriers and battled against the odds to positively change their lives by setting up in business.

Nikki and Kevin, who started Toloja Orchards three years ago, are now hoping to scoop the top prize worth over £13,000 at a prestigious black tie Awards Dinner in London, on 7^th October.

In 1991 Nikki Crewes-Sweet (40) and Kevin Sweet (39) both enjoyed full-time employment in the construction industry and were looking forward to getting married. However, the excitement of their wedding was short-lived as Nikki was made redundant just before they tied the knot.

Soon after, Kevin was also made redundant and subsequently went onto lose his job three times in the following three years each time at Christmas. The newlyweds continued struggle against unemployment throughout the early part of their marriage and even had to sell their wedding gifts to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse when they were evicted from their home, which had been in Kevin's family for over 60 years.

In 2002 Kevin and Nikki's luck changed when they moved to a farm in the Welsh countryside. A chance suggestion by Kevin prompted them to grow an orchard on their new land, which inspired them to start a cidery.  But this was somewhat short-lived when Kevin fell ill with a heart problem resulting in emergency life saving surgery; his journey to recovery continues to be a long one.

Finally, their dream became a reality when they launched Toloja Orchards in 2005 named after their 3 children (Tom, Lottie & James). Kevin and Nikki's natural cider has been a sell-out success and has already taken home the Gold, silver and bronze prizes in the Welsh Perry & Cider Championships, as well as three commendations in the True Taste of Wales Awards.

The couple are now developing the Toloja Orchards brand and the variety of products in production on their farm. In the future they also hope to open a farm shop and expand to online sales.

John Davis, Barclays Marketing Director for Local Business and a judge on the panel, said: "The Barclays Trading Places Awards are a celebration of unsung heroes who, in spite of great personal challenges, have taken steps to establish a sustainable business and, in doing so, changed the direction of their lives for the better.

"I congratulate Nikki and Kevin on becoming the Welsh Regional Winner and hope their inspiring story will prove to other people in Ceredigion that self employment can be possible if you've got a dream and the guts and determination to make it work."             

Nikki and Kevin will now be invited, along with the nine other Regional Winners from across the country, to attend a glittering black-tie Awards Dinner in London at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, on 7^th October.

The Winner and Runner-up, to be announced on the night, will be presented with a cheque for £10,000 and £5,000 respectively, courtesy of Barclays.

Each Regional Winner will also receive £1,100 worth of desktop software by Microsoft. In addition, the National Winner will receive a further £2,300 worth of Microsoft server software.

The judging panel includes Big Issue founder and editor-in-chief John Bird and  Ian King, Business Editor of The Sun, Sophie Beesley of The Prince's Trust; Eileen Thomson of Jobcentre Plus; Ann Carter-Gray of  BERR; Julian Price of Microsoft, George Derbyshire of the NFEA and Jane Fletcher of Leonard Cheshire Disability.

Other supporters of the awards are the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), The National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) and Microsoft.