ROSE Leather is the envy of her fellow partners at Waitrose as she plans how to spend her six months paid leave.

Rose, 58, has qualified for the leave after working for the John Lewis Partnership for 25 years.

Among her ideas for spending her holiday is travelling across North America.

Rose, from Northwich, is a customer service section manager at Waitrose Northwich.

To mark her quarter of a century with the Partnership Waitrose partners organised a celebration lunch for Rose on Friday.

She received bouquets, champagne and wine, a £250 Thomas Cook holiday voucher and £200 cheque and cut into a celebration cake.

Rose has to give six months notice of when she wishes to take her six months leave, and is looking at taking it from December 2015.

“I would like to stay in a villa during January and February, and invite my family, and would also love to go travelling,” she said.

“I’m thinking about hiring a mobile home and travelling around America, possibly somewhere like Wyoming, for the scenery and to see the ranches.

“I plan to take someone with me, and although I have a few people in mind I’m keeping everything under wraps at the moment!

“I started as a Christmas temp at John Lewis in Liverpool in September 1989, and although I heard partners talking about the six months paid leave I never thought I would get there.

“When I tell friends about my six months leave they are shocked, and I’m looking at starting it next December because I’ve never had Christmas off.”

Rose will attend an annual long service awards dinner next spring for 25 year partners on the banks of The Thames.

Store manager Peter Gibbs said: “It’s been fantastic to have a partner with Rose’s experience in the team, and she’s helped the new partners settle in.

“I can’t think of any other company that would reward long-serving employees with six months paid leave.

“In due course I’d expect some of our newer Northwich partners to qualify for long leave, but there’s a few years to go until then!”