Menders and fixers who run a repair event are expecting their next session to be busier than usual.

Ros Dean, founder of the Repair Café Weymouth, says the cost-of-living crisis coupled with the organisation's first event after a summer break will see more people with items in need of repair.

Among the items recently given a new lease of life by volunteers are a 'Batmobile', a ride-on dinosaur, a shattered ballerina ornament and a wooden rocking horse - which had new ears and handles made for it.

Also brought back to life were laptop computers which were decluttered, a mobile phone, TVs, clocks, vacuum cleaners and garden tools.

Ros said: “We don’t operate in the summer months as both our potential visitors and many of our 50 volunteers are on holiday or really busy.

"People will have saved up their repairs. As we all anticipate higher petrol, household energy and mortgage costs, they will hopefully want to repair, instead of replace, broken items.

"We just need them to know that Repair Cafés exist and that Repair Café Weymouth operates from the youth club and children’s centre known as Top Club on Louviers Road in Weymouth. We have 30 volunteers at most two hour events and we need to keep them busy.”

Some 65 to 85 items are usually repaired at Repair Cafe Weymouth sessions.

Judy Luffman, who has been volunteering since the initiative started in 2019, says: “We don’t charge for repairs. We just ask for a donation. So, if you are homeless, you don’t pay. We have a 3D printer now and can create small plastic parts. We have electronics experts, electrical, repairers/ advisors of IT and technology, and we fix mechanical, clocks, gluing, jewellery and sewing including leather. There are over 2,200 repair cafes throughout the world and we were the second in Dorset.”

Ros is keen to recruit new volunteers with some expertise too.

She said: “We have some amazing volunteers but need a few people to cover absences. We need a sewing volunteer or two, another ceramics/ gluing expert, electronics repairers and an additional IT repairer for laptops/ PCs, tablets and mobile phones. "We are also hoping to find a ‘do-er’ who will become involved in running the Repair Café events and be as passionate about it as we are. That person would attend most events and help to promote them. They need to have minor IT skills."

‘Repair Café Weymouth‘ has an active Facebook page and a website repaircafeweymouth.org. You can email Ros and Judy on repaircafeweymouth@gmail.com.

Their next event is on Saturday, September 10, 10.30am to 12.30pm at Top Club, Louviers Road, Weymouth DT3 6AY.