Milton Keynes: Council offers residents household items to borrow

Items available to borrow through the scheme include DIY tools, baking kits and vacuums

A city council has launched a "Library of Things" scheme to allow people to borrow household items for free.

DIY tools, baking kits and vacuums were among the objects available from the project based at the Frank Moran Centre in Bletchley, Milton Keynes.

When a resident makes a request to the centre, staff would then would submit an order to Milton Keynes City Council.

Jane Carr, the council's cabinet member for tackling social inequalities, hoped the scheme would help residents.

The Liberal Democrat councillor said that the cost-of-living crisis continued "to devastate families across the city".

She added: "The Library of Things is a great option for people to borrow, mend, and make do and will help to ease some of the financial pressure felt by vulnerable residents impacted by the cost-of-living crisis."

The council has worked alongside Foodbank Xtra and local charity providers to purchase a limited number of items that would be available to borrow.

People can keep the borrowed goods for up to two weeks, depending on the item, before returning them to the library.

Ms Carr warned that if items were not returned on time "it'll be traced up and tracked back because this is a service that we want to keep going".