Handy volunteers patch up dozens of gadgets at Ludlow repair cafe

Members of the public were invited to bring along items in need of repair to Ludlow Repair Cafe at the Mascall Centre last weekend.

Organiser Diane Lyle said: "It was the most successful Repair Cafe we've run so far. This is only our fifth one but they get better each time.

"We saw 37 different people with about 50 items as some people brought two or three items they wanted to be fixed. We saw lots of vacuum cleaners, a toaster, jewellery, clocks and more. They majority of things were fixed but if our volunteers couldn't fix it, either because they didn't have the right tools or the job was too big for the day, they referred them to someone else."

The event was launched by Diane in 2017 after she saw similar schemes elsewhere.

It is currently a quarterly event but she hopes in the future it will become monthly.

"I started it as a way to help the planet," she said. "I hate throwing things away so I did some research and talked to people from repair cafes in Shrewsbury, Bewdley and Malvern. They really are growing and springing up not just in this country, but all over the world."

It is run by a team of volunteers who give up an afternoon to repair items that would otherwise be thrown away.

There is no charge but donations are accepted to cover the cost of the event, and any surplus money is donated to the Furniture Scheme in Ludlow.

Diane added: "Our volunteers are all people who have been fixing things most of their lives, either when times were tough or they like tinkering. We don't want things to end up in landfill."

The new Ludlow Repair Cafe is on April 27 at Rockspring Community Centre.