A FEMALE hygiene group is now collecting incontinence products for struggling women.

The Bolton-based volunteer-led group Fresh As A Daisy is looking for donations for women’s absorbent pads after seeing a rise in demand.

Until now, the group has distributed sanitary products and hygiene items and has since recognised the need for incontinence pads with many women requesting them.

Dawn Lythgoe, a group spokesman, said: “We have been doing work like this for five years from sanitary products, expanding it to hygiene with shampoos and soaps etc.

“Incontinence products help with bladder control and lately a lot of women have been asking if we have any.

“We’ve noticed more women coming to us because they can’t get these products unless they pay a lot of money.”

Incontinence products cost more than sanitary pads and can be anything from £6 or more.

Dawn added: “We usually may get a few donated so will try to help out as much as we can but now that we are seeing more women asking for them, we have decided to collect them.

“They are expensive so we thought about it that if there’s a need there, and women are struggling, then we can do something to support them. So, we started collecting a couple of weeks ago.”

The Fresh As A Daisy team collects the products before boxing them up and dropping them off to charities who need them and pass them on to women.

Dawn said: “We are 100 per cent run by volunteers as well and they work so hard and give their time to do this. We really couldn’t do all of this without them.”

Donations can be left at any Urban Outreach grub trub or if there is a bulky donation, the team can collect or have it delivered.

The team is also looking for a Bolton group or any services supporting women to get in touch if they may need any products.

Dawn said: “Alongside this we have also contacted Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group to find put if there is any support available locally via the NHS.

“We will share any information we get that may help women access this assistance.”

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