STAFF and volunteers at Swindon Children’s Scrapstore returned to work yesterday, only three weeks after their former base was destroyed by fire.

The environmental charity was forced to move out of its old premises on Cheney Manor Industrial Estate after flames ripped through the building on January 4.

Now the operation has been moved to a larger unit at Westmead Industrial Estate and organisers hope to re-open to the public in the second week of February.

Project manager Olivia McCann said: “It has happened exceptionally quickly. To be able to get the office up and running and to get where we have within three weeks now is absolutely amazing.

“And we want to move as quickly as possible so we can get ourselves back open to the public so they can benefit from our resources.”

Swindon Children’s Scrapstore is a local community resource centre and environmental charity, which collects businesses redundant reusable materials for the benefit of the local community.

The charity secured the new unit, off Westmead Drive, the day after the fire and has spent the last three weeks fitting it out with the help of about 30 people on community payback.

Some of the local organisatioins which also helped include Office Clearance, SP Computers and Waste to Wonder, as well as other Scrapstores across the country.

Olivia said that the charity would not move back to Cheney Manor, but hoped to expand at the larger three-storey Westmead site, creating new projects and developing existing projects.

The charity is seeking donations of retail racking and back-of-store racking to store and display its materials.

Anyone who can help can contact Olivia on 0773 902 3290.