A GROUP of neighbours have shown their community spirit by organising a donation and collection hub in Harwood.

It all began when Sarah Knight left a crate of books outside Harwood Methodist Church, in the hope that someone would swap them for some books she hadn’t read.

But the donations kept on coming and soon boxes lined the entrance to the church, full of books, toys and bric-a-brac donated by people for their neighbours to take for free.

Sarah was joined by Pam Wright, who lived opposite the church and started helping her by carrying boxes. The two now manage all the donations which anyone can take, fostering a new found community spirit in the area.

There’s also a food donation tub collecting non-perishable items for Urban Outreach. So far 25 bags of food have been donated.

Pam Wright, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said: “It started with eight books and now we have hundreds. It went from nothing and now it’s enormous, its been really successful.

“I can honestly say we have had a really good time, we have enjoyed it so much. I have met people I’ve never seen before and now we’ve become good friends.

“We’ve maintained social distancing and it's all very sensible. It’s never crowded but there’s always a steady stream of people. Everyone’s really enjoyed it. We’ve had a great response from the community, it's been brilliant.

“It’s definitely something other communities can do, whether it's in a church or a community space, if people would take the time to realise how important something like this is.

“It doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t really need anyone to run it, but it’s really great for people. Hopefully it can continue once this is all over too.

“The grub tub is always full, people have been very generous. I think the fact is there’s a community spirit, people are commenting on how good it is.

“It was Sarah who started it all, I’m the second in command and she’s the gaffer.”

The books are all bagged in clean plastic bags to ensure there’s no contamination, and the boxes are covered over with sheets overnight.

Sarah, a resident for 15 years, said: “I didn’t know many people before this and it’s been great meeting everyone, everyone’s so friendly, Pam just started helping me and now we’ve become good friends.

“It's just really good, people like donating stuff, whether it's books or children’s toys. It just makes everyone feel part of the community.”

Joanna Jowett, a member of the church, said: “With the libraries closed people aren’t able to get hold of new books easily. Here we bag them all up so they are all clean and people can take what they want, and it’s all free.There’s lots of children’s books too which is great for those who are home schooling.

“It’s a real hub in the community. Between them they’ve just created this amazing thing, and its keeping Harwood going.

“We have all become really good friends as well. It’s an inspiration for other communities.”

Rev Ian Smart said: “It’s wonderful to see the community of Harwood is coming together at this time. It is a tribute to the people of Harwood that they have responded in the way that they have and that they have set this up.”