If you have ever wondered what happens to shoplifters when they are caught, then visit the Laughing Stock shop in Witney. Strung up by the stock room, a grotesque looking dummy does not look a happy chappy - unlike Colin Brown and Kevin Rose, the men who run this shop.

To liken them to pigs in clover might be going too far, but they certainly seem to have found a niche that suits their very different characters.

Indeed, running a fancy dress/joke shop seems to have been the perfect next step for this former comedy duo, once famous as the Stripping Window Cleaners.

Mr Brown, 35, and Mr Rose, 48, have worked together for 17 years. They started by cleaning windows and running discos, progressed to promoting events, including hen nights, where they stripped for their clientele in the infamous balloon dance, and eventually decided to set up the shop.

They got the idea from friends on the comedy circuit who had a shop in Yeovil.

The shop, which opened five years ago, is a fantasy treasure trove of costumes, accessories, jokes and party ware, backed up by a stock room crammed to the brim with hire costumes.

"When we first opened, people would come and say they wanted to be a particular character," Mr Brown explained.

"We would know those costumes and accessories were available, but we didn't have them because we couldn't afford to buy them in."

So the two men took no wages for the first two years, ploughing all the profits straight back into stock. The strategy paid off.

"People come in now and say they want something and 95 per cent of the time we have it."

Their job responsibilities mimic their stage roles when Mr Brown played the straight man to Mr Rose's comedian. Now Mr Rose does sales, happiest when dealing with customers, while Mr Brown prefers life behind the scenes.

He not only deals with the accounts and suppliers, but also built the Internet site that contributes more than 40 per cent of their revenue.

So what costumes do people like the most?

Mr Brown said: "Pirates and gangsters are probably our most popular costumes."

But the bestselling line is in super heroes. They do a range of costumes from TV's Little Britain series, but they are almost passé now.

"Fans will come in and buy the costumes, but not general customers," he explained.

Trade is seasonal, with the high point for fancy dress being between October to December as it includes Hallowe'en, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year.

"Between January and April, we start moving some of the fancy dress stuff out and filling up with party stuff," Mr Brown said.

"This time of year's busiest season is birthday parties and then in the summer it creeps back into fancy dress with beach parties and things. In the winter we get rid of almost all the napkins and tablecloths and go back into fancy dress, so we do move with the seasons."

Luckily, they now have a warehouse to store unused stock, as before it used to be parked in different people's garages.

The shop has made a profit every year since opening in 2002, but last year business dropped slightly and noticeably several other fancy dress shops closed in the region.

Mr Brown is at a loss to explain this, pointing only to the general economic downturn. Fortunately, the Internet side of the operation is booming and this year will do as much business as the shop.

The two decided to start up the website in 2005.

Mr Brown said: "It was a gamble really - we decided to throw a bit of money at it and see how it went. We bought the computers and programs, then I sat there for six months and built the website."

Within a few days of it going live, people were buying from all over the country and they now also sell overseas.

Mr Brown is proud that he has turned what was a computer hobby into a very successful part of the business.

"We thought we'd just be sending out a few parcels a day, just to top up the takings in the shop," he said.

But demand has gone up so much that they are now one of the biggest sellers of fancy dress on the Internet.

"It gets so ridiculously busy at Christmas that we have to close down for a few days."

On the Internet and in the shop there is a lucrative adults-only section.

"We're not allowed to have adult images or products in the window, and only a percentage of our shop is allowed to include those lines - less than 25 per cent - otherwise we would need to have a licence to sell it," Mr Brown explained.

In keeping with the nature of the shop, the products lean towards the silly, but then the pair know where their strengths lie.

By making people laugh, they are laughing themselves - all the way to the bank.