MORE than 1,000 treasured items have been saved from landfill since Salisbury Repair Café was first established.

The repair café, part of a global network, celebrated its fifth anniversary last month, and organisers said more than £10,000 has been raised for charity in that time, amassing more than 4,000 volunteer hours.

Set up in 2019 by Jimmy Walker and Benji Goehl, skilled volunteers carry out repairs to clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, jewellery, toys, books, and more at each session, which takes place at Bemerton Methodist Church on the second Saturday of each month.

Café organisers said they are keen to see more young people at the sessions to see if their item can be saved rather than throwing it away.

Salisbury Mayor councillor Sven Hocking was joined by the guest of honour, the decorated war veteran 103-year-old Ron Collins who was a customer at the first ever Salisbury Repair Cafe in 2019, when the cafe celebrated its fifth anniversary in November.

Cllr Hocking and Ron presented the original team of 13 volunteers with a commemorative pin to celebrate their service and their contribution to the community.

Volunteers help save items that would otherwise go to landfill Picture: Salisbury Repair Café

Volunteers are always needed at the repair café, organisers have said, including skilled repairers as well as people with experience in customer service, administration, or hospitality, to contribute to the smooth running of the sessions.

“A third of the volunteers are in non-repairing roles, so volunteers don’t necessarily need repairing skills,” a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson said: “Anyone who has visited Salisbury’s Household Recycling Centre on Churchfields will have seen the eye-watering amounts of electrical goods, toys and gadgets being discarded.

“Some have only minor faults and may be given a new lease of life with a little time, skill and care.”

Salisbury Repair Café aims to empower consumers by enabling them to explore the possibility of how they can repair a broken item before deciding to throw it away.

This has the potential to help them save money, reduce waste, and conserve the resources and energy needed to manufacture new items.

For more information, visit salisburyrepaircafe.org.