An inventive Seven Kings woman has cured herself of a foot condition and is now offering to help others.

Shahmaz Rizwan, of St Albans Road, had suffered from bunions since she was a child, but it wasn’t until recently that the pain became so severe that she was forced to use crutches when walking.

The 56-year-old was left facing surgery when a eureka moment saw her put pen to paper, designing a shoe that she claims doctors described as a “miracle”.

“I had started using crutches and thought within a few months I would be in a wheelchair”, she said.

“I’m so active usually, so I was thinking and designed the slipper. I took a 3D design to a doctor in Mumbai and he said it was very interesting, so I took it to a shoe maker and six weeks later I had done it.”

Bunions are a bone deformity of the joint at the base of the big toe. It is thought the cause is linked to family history, though wearing badly fitting shoes can worsen the problem.

Shahmaz’s shoe works by gradually separating the big toe from the rest, and slowly moving it in to a position that reduces pain and discomfort.

She added: “It’s a non-surgical solution and in six months your toe will be in the right place. I have no pain anymore and can walk for miles.

“I want to pass my knowledge on to people, and if they want me to make them a pair of shoes - I will.”

The inventor turned actress is currently in India making her Bollywood debut, but plans to return home to Seven Kings, where she’s lived since 1994, to run a series of seminars educating women on foot care.

Nine out of 10 bunion sufferers are women because of the high-heels they wear, claims Shahmaz.

She added: “They don’t understand the damage shoes cause, so I will help them.”