A Wrexham father has turned his life around after experiencing temporary homelessness 10 years ago to become a successful business owner. 

Joshua Topham is the owner and founder of Wrex Raw, a business located on Rackery Lane in Llay, which provides raw dog food. 

Joshua opened the store on October 1 of last year born out of a dream to run his own business and provide affordable raw dog food. 

The shop is run by Joshua and his partner Billie-Jo Wood, who says she is incredibly proud of her partner for realising his dream. 

Joshua, who grew up in Llay, was faced with homelessness at age 16 before he had even finished his GCSE's and went into a hostel until the age of 21. 

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At 21 Joshua became a father, he said: "After my daughter was born, it was like a flick in my brain that I needed to get a job."

Joshua then went into traffic management, a job he is extremely grateful for and he began to turn his life around. 

After meeting Billie-Jo around four years ago the pair connected over a shared interest of dogs and were forced to learn more about raw dog food diets due to their dogs' allergies. 

The idea for Wrex Raw was then born as Joshua found that he was spending over £200 a week in some cases on the raw dog food and therefore wanted to provide a more affordable solution. 

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He said: "I wanted to make something of myself and I think if you have an idea you should just do it.

"Everything happens for a reason and if it doesn't work for some reason then you just have to learn and grow from it."

Joshua set up the Instagram page or Wrex Raw back in 2021, but after a unit became available to rent in September in Llay, he and his partner had four weeks to get the store up and running. 

Joshua added: "I couldn’t have done the shop without the help and support of my partner Bilie."

The cost of living was a major concern in their decision to open the store, Billie-Jo said: "It was a massive concern, we weighed up the pros and cons of it all considering the prices of electricity, running freezers, rent and water etc.

"It was scary and definitely very stressful, however it couldn't have gone any better so far."

Billie-Jo added: "I am so proud of how it has gone, and so proud of Josh."

The business has been successful in the first few months of opening and Joshua is even on the lookout for a second location to open another store. 

Joshua added: "I am currently looking for a good area, we know what works and have the blueprint for it now so hopefully by the end of this year we will cover another area."