A CHOIR from theSalvation Army hostel in Swindon were on song when they performed their first public gig as a singing group.

The Boothtones formed in September 2017 and practice for hour-long weekly sessions at the Booth House hostel in the town centre.

They sang their hearts out in front of a crowd for the first time at Darkroom Espresso in a 10-song concert of pop and rock hits.

The group was the brainchild of Paul Ashman, who runs the Recycles bike shop at the front of the hostel.

He said: “I asked the Salvation Army if I could bring some music into the hostel.

“Music is a great way of engaging people and helping them with their self-esteem and social skills, things that the residents were lacking because of their backgrounds.

“Some of them were very reserved at first and shy about singing in front of each other, but they’ve really come out of their shell and become a close-knit unit.

“Now they love singing. They’re passionate about it. I’ve noticed such a huge difference.

“This gives them something to look forward to, they choose the songs and they came up with the group’s name.”

Booth House has a number of other social enterprise projects designed to bring hostel residents, who used to live on the streets, together and work as a team to develop their practical and interpersonal skills.

The ultimate aim of the projects is to get them ready to go back into the world of work with improved confidence and abilities.

Paul added: “It was their idea to perform in public, though once the reality of it hit them, they were a bit nervous.

“I know someone at Darkroom Espresso and he was thrilled to have them perform there.

“Once they got on stage, you wouldn’t have known they were nervous or that it was their first show, they brought the house down.

“It was a massive achievement, they were buzzing afterwards.

“It’s gone from strength to strength, we only had two people at first and now we have 10.

“Gigs like this also bring the Booth House name to the public and shows them what the Salvation Army do to help people there.”

Paul hopes to organise regular gigs for the group - their second concert will be at the Village Inn later this year.