Volunteers said "it does not seem possible" that they have been running the highly successful Kenilworth Repair Cafe for three years.

The project, which is self-sustaining thanks to the generosity of locals, was launched during the pandemic and will celebrate its major milestone at the next instalment on September 21.

"Over this past year we've had over 460 items brought in for repair, lamps and vacuum cleaners were the commonest items," they said.

"Garden tool sharpening has also been extremely popular, Kenilworth should definitely be top of the list for best kept gardens! We achieved a success rate of 73 per cent.

"Very encouraging for our motto of 'Repair not Replace'."

Organisers collect lots of data from each item repaired to put onto a national database to put pressure on manufacturers to improve the repairability of goods.

"Wouldn't it be great if when you bought something that it not only had an energy efficiency rating, but you also knew how easy it was to repair or how long it would last past the warranty," the team added.

The Repair Café has been represented at the Kenilworth Eco Fayre and Clean Air Day.

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One member gave a presentation to the Kenilworth All Together Greener group and the team was invited to Mayor of Kenilworth Cllr Alan Charmers' Evening Reception.

Previous mayor Cllr Alix Dearing also awarded the repair cafe an award.

"We held an outreach Café with the children at St John's Primary," volunteers added.

"This was so successful that the children carried on all through their breaktime mending their toys and clothes with a little help from our team.

"We love doing these and hope to do more outreach workshops with other local schools in future. 

"Kenilworth Repair Café is always on the third Saturday of the month, 2-5pm at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.

"There's a great atmosphere with a cuppa and a cake on offer whilst you wait, we like to emphasis the social side of our Café. If you miss it there are Repair Cafes in Coventry, Leamington, Rugby on other Saturdays, Solihull even hold theirs on a Sunday.

"However, we do think our homemade cakes are better than theirs!"

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