A POOR little Swingball that had lost its ball was among the items that found a new lease of life on Sunday.

Volunteers from the Eastcott Community Organisation helped mend dozens of well-loved items in an afternoon that also saw residents trade fruit and vegetables, learn about making their homes more energy efficient and enjoy some classic tunes.

On Sunday, Savernake Street Social Hall, in Eastcott, played host to the Repair Café, a “Free Shop”, guerrilla gardeners Incredible Edible Swindon, Swindon Climate Action Network and the borough council’s energy efficiency guru.

Caroline Davies Khan, chairman of the Eastcott Community Organisation, said: “It’s a nice way for the community to come together. We’ve had at least 200 visitors so far.”

Tony Gardener, 48, of Wroughton, had brought along a tennis ball in a bid to get his family’s Swingball garden toy fixed – saving £15. He said of the event: “I think it’s great. It’s a real community event.”

Manning one of the repair café stalls, Shaw resident Martin Hawes, 64, was busy fixing a kitchen drawer.

Already that afternoon, the 64-year-old had reattached the handle for a metal dustpan and begun making a wooden bench.

Martin said of the Repair Café: “It’s one of these nice green initiatives, tackling one of the problems of our age: that we use stuff and then chuck it away.”

Incredible Edible Swindon was overseeing a “Crop Swap” – with green-fingered residents exchanging fruit and veg from their gardens with other produce grown across Swindon.

The Swindon-based gardening group’s David Sparks said they had been inundated with apples – with this year’s being an excellent harvest for cooking apples.

David, whose Incredible Edible group gives people the chance to grow flowers and veg on plots in the town centre and West Swindon, said of the project: “We can’t feed the whole town, but what we’re trying to do is inspire people to have a go.”

The next Repair Café will be at the Savernake Street Social Hall on Sunday, November 12, at 2pm.

For more, visit: www.facebook.com/SavernakeStreetSocialHall.