ONE of Wiltshire's newest Men's Sheds is on the look-out for new members after staging an open day on Tuesday.

Around a dozen members of the Bradford on Avon Men's Shed have spent the past year or so renovating their workshops in between Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Now their chairman Peter Eveleigh has declared the premises 'fit-for-purpose' and is keen to recruit new members.

He said: "We're on the look-out for anyone who is retired or semi-retired or who needs to make new friends.

"Our current age range is 50-90 and we're looking for new members who want to get out on a Tuesday morning."

The BoA Men's Shed was formed in 2019 with help from £2,500 in grants from Bradford on Avon Town Council and Wiltshire Council's Bradford on Avon Area Board. It received a further £1,000 donation from the Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust.

Members meet every Tuesday, from 9am to 1pm at their workshops next to the Bradford on Avon Town Football Club on the Trowbridge Road.

Recent projects have included a new book swap cabinet for the town council, and some oak benches for Avon Needs Trees at Hazeland near Calne, where the Bristol-based charity is planting more trees next to ten acres of ancient woodland.

Members have also repaired the bench by the Bradford on Avon town bridge for the town council, and have renovated the BoA Preservation Trust signboard at Hen's Orchard near the Saxon Tithe Barn in Bradford on Avon.

There are now nearly 600 Men's Sheds open in the UK with a further 143 in the pipeline. They provide community spaces for men to connect, converse and create.

Mr Eveleigh said they were set up to help men overcome social isolation and mental health issues following the closure of many traditional social clubs, special interest clubs and working men's clubs.