AFTER 30 years of receiving secondhand tools, refurbishing them and sending them off to aid charity projects in Africa, the Holt Refurbishing Workshop is still as strong as it ever has been.

The group of 10 retired men, who meet up every Wednesday at the United Reformed Church Hall in the village, have been repairing and cleaning second hand tools for three decades and work with the charity, Tools for Self Reliance, to put together kits to send to the African countries of Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Last Wednesday, the members celebrated its 30th birthday with a slice of cake before getting back to work.

Geraint Owen, 70, said: “I have been here for nearly 10 years now and I am so glad I joined up. I have loved being involved and I look forward to continuing to work with my friends here.

“The way it works is, we receive the tools, then we assemble the kits and send them off every few months to projects doing carpentry, woodwork, electrics and leather work.

“It is a very satisfying thing that we do. Here is to another 30 years, although I think I may not be around for that one, but you never know. What I do know is that we have a lot of fun here.”