Dee Stapleton, pictured above, who has lived in the village all her life, runs Deelights from Lancing Business Park, offering a range of candles.

The married mother of two also designs websites, but woke up on Friday unable to face a day at work.

Thirty-two year old Dee told the Herald: "I just had one of those days when I didn't want to go to work. Because I am the boss, I took the day off.

"I was having a cup of coffee and I thought I would go out with my camera and approach strangers. Before I knew what I was doing, I was off."

Amateur photographer Dee went into Lancing and set herself the challenge of finding 25 people who were willing to pose for pictures with a smile on their faces.

She said: "I literally asked complete strangers in the centre of Lancing to give me a smile to use in my project. I approached 27 people and got 25 smiles.

"I didn't approach anyone with shopping bags or small children, or who looked grumpy.

"It took me only about 45 minutes. The first few were the hardest, because I had never done it before. I was trying not to look too suspicious."

Dee said her project showed there was still happiness in the world, despite the weather, and that she had been left pleasantly surprised by her subjects' responses.

"It was purely something for fun," she added. "Most people were really friendly and didn't rush off afterwards."

Following the success of the experiment, Dee now plans to try something similar on a far bigger scale. "I want to hit Brighton now and try for 150 people," she said.