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Inside the 'repair shop' fixing hundreds of items

BBC John Fitzgerald, Chairman of Fix It Group 23, based in Mountsorrel, LeicestershireBBC
Chairman of The Fix It Group 23, John Fitzgerald, said there had been a large demand for the repair service on offer

A Leicestershire community's own version of BBC TV show The Repair Shop has celebrated its first full year of operating.

The Fix it Group 23, based at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre, has fixed more than 600 items in its first 12 months as the group aims to "reduce waste, share knowledge and skills whilst bringing the community together".

The "fixers" at the group are all unpaid volunteers and have repaired items ranging from hot tubs and treadmills, through to toy cars.

John Fitzgerald, chairman of the group, said: "The demand has been amazing and it has taken us by surprise by how many items come in."

"We have all sorts of people with all sorts of items who queue out the door on a Sunday morning," he added.

Image of Jonathan Rashleigh who uses the Fix It Group 23 service in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Jonathan Rashleigh has been using the service for an array of different items

The group said it "differed slightly" from the BBC programme as they take on any broken item as opposed to mainly family heirlooms.

Jonathan Rashleigh said he had been using the service for a range of items that needed fixing.

"I think it's amazing, we found out about it months ago," he said.

"We brought a lawnmower blade to be sharpened and we have been coming back since. We have a pile of things for them to look at now, but not all at once."

Susan Slater at the Fix It Group 23 in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Susan Slater said she could not "thank them enough" for fixing her beloved sewing machine

Gemma Andrews, from Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire, has her own repair cafe but decided to come and volunteer at the group in Mountsorrel too.

She said: "I come here to repair textiles and there is a huge demand for this service.

"We have around 70 items brought in every time we open. People want it and people want to repair their things."

Susan Slater brought in her broken sewing machine that her husband bought her 50 years ago.

"It's fantastic here, absolutely fantastic," she said.

"Because of its sentimental value, I didn't want to buy a new one so I can't thank them enough that it is now working."

The group opens once every five weeks and is hoping to fix "plenty more items in the future".

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