DJ NEIL Young has swap-ped records for wraps and panninis having taken over the lease of Prego in Caerleon.

Located by the petrol station on the Usk bridge, his 50s' style caf will be offering freshly made-up snacks plus fruit juices, smoothies and coffees, chocolate and tea.

Mr Young said his motivation for the venture stemmed from the fact that he'd always loved food and spent part of his Rogerstone childhood helping his mum to do the cooking. "I can tackle most things in the kitchen and would have been interested in training as a chef.

"But I started DJing when I was 11 and the anti-social hours made that impossible."

Mr Young is still working the clubs, playing all over the UK plus regular summer assignments in places like Ibiza and Russia.

"I started in Newport in Rudi's when rave music first arrived and I just kept going. But the industry is much more commercial now.

"It's all about making money, basically."

He said that part of the attraction of Prego was that it offered a flexible working life. "My mum (Julie Bushell) is helping me and we've got some part-time support for lunchtimes."

Although still only 27, Mr Young is no stranger to self-employment. He ran Phat Records on Charles Street for four and a half years.

He said: "My main schoolboy ambition was to open my own record shop. But I'm glad I did it while I was young because there was simply no money in it."

The Prego opportunity arose through chatting to somebody in bar. He said: "I was on a bit of a bender, but I remembered just enough of the conversation to follow it up the day after."

He hasn't gone down the training/supported start route.