THE Melksham Shed Club has officially launched its new home after moving this month following two years in a portable building.

On Wednesday, September 6 the group opened their new Melksham Shed to become the only Shed Club in Wiltshire with its own premises.

Cllr Adrienne Westbrook, the mayor of Melksham, cut a ribbon to declare the shed open. The group has been supported by the town’s Rotary and Lions clubs.

Chairman Chris Pickett said: “Our ten members love the new shed and are really proud of it. We think it’s great because now we have a proper workshop.

“It’s a very good place to meet people and enjoy the same camaraderie we used to have in the workplace.”

The group makes a wide range of items for locals, organisations and community groups, including notice boards, signposts and benches.

Members have also helped to clean up stretches of the River Avon running through Melksham and have made finger posts for the river walk.

The idea of Men’s Shed Clubs comes from Australia, and is fast becoming popular across the UK.

Similar clubs across the country offer activities such as woodwork, furniture repairs and gardening.

The Melksham Shed Club began in 2015 following a public meeting at the Foresters Arms Pub in Melksham attended by more than 40 residents.

Following two more meetings, the group launched Wiltshire’s first Shed Club at Lancaster Road in Bowerhill and looked for premises.

Eventually, Vic Oakman of the Forest Community Centre, offered the group two-thirds of a portable building at Bowmans Court, their home for the past two years.