Cost of living: Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library membership rockets

The toy library has thousands of items available to borrow

A toy library where families can borrow items has seen a big rise in its membership since the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, staff have said.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library had just 30 members five years ago but that has now risen to about 150.

Children can borrow two toys at a time from thousands of items, including Lego, books and art supplies.

Organiser Lauren Rogerson said it had seen a "massive increase" in membership in the past two years.

The charity is based at The Old School in Knaresborough and runs play sessions twice a week.

"We've got everything, every sort of toy you can imagine, we've got it crammed into this room," Ms Rogerson said.

She said a big rise in membership numbers had come since Covid and as pressure on people's finances had increased.

"I don't know if it's the impact of the pandemic on people's financial circumstances or whether it is the current cost-of-living crisis," she said.

The toy library started 20 years ago and Ms Rogerson, 39, has been working there for the past five years.

Claire Patrickson and her son Matthew like the toy library because it is better for the environment

Claire Patrickson, 31, and her son Matthew have been using the toy library for the past year.

They have just returned some farm toys and are browsing for model trains this week because Matthew is interested in Thomas the Tank Engine.

"I don't know what I'd do without it really - and it's a lot better for the environment," Claire said.

"I hardly ever buy him toys. He's got some toys from grandparents for Christmas and birthdays but I haven't bought him anything.

"Everything's going up so you don't need to buy him an awful lot of stuff. It's a really good way of keeping him entertained and of keeping costs down."

She said the toys were "really good quality" and the library meant her son was able to borrow bigger toys than the family would usually buy.

"We're quite happy to have it for two weeks but we don't want it forever because it takes up your whole living room," she added.

Sarah Ward with her daughter Nora, who is a fan of getting behind the wheel of the toy car at the library

Sarah Ward's daughter Nora has a favourite toy at the library's play sessions - a Little Tikes car, which they would not have space for at home.

The 36-year-old, who runs a coffee shop in the town, said: "I'm a solo parent and I'm also self employed so there isn't much time for buying things.

"I also don't have much room in my own house so especially big things, like the Little Tikes car or a Pickler triangle [climbing frame], just borrowing those for a couple of weeks is wonderful. You don't have to fork out all that money for something.

"I'd never heard of them [toy libraries] before. To have it on your doorstep is wonderful, we're just so lucky and so many families benefit from it."

Natasha Bromhall, with twins Jack and Izzie, says parents can be priced out of activities if they have more than one child

Natasha Bromhall and her three children are regular visitors to the toy library play sessions.

The 36-year-old, who has eight-month-old twins and a three-year-old daughter, said: "The cost of living is definitely a concern.

"I'm normally priced out of a lot of things with my twins because everyone charges twice and that can be up to £20 a session, which we can't afford.

"Here we pay £4.50 for all three of the children and we can play for an hour and a half. It's such an affordable session to come to with three children."

Natasha and her husband plan to borrow toys for Christmas and said the library "just really helps" during the festive season.

"We talk to [our daughter Frankie] about giving some of her old toys back to Santa so that other children can play with them. Coming to the toy library has helped her understand that we can borrow and give things back.

"We have a real recycle, reuse ethos as a family so being able to use the toys and bring them back means that we are reusing them and not throwing them in landfill."

Lauren Rogerson and Emma Jones from Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library

Most families are from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wetherby. The charity has a £30-a-year membership fee, but is free for families who are struggling with their finances.

"There's such a stigma attached to saying I can't actually afford that, so we say to families never feel that you can't say that to us," Ms Rogerson said.

"If we can help families who can't afford to buy toys then that is amazing for us. We just want our toys to be played with."