A FACEBOOK group that helped thousands of people to carry out shopping and collect prescriptions during the pandemic has appealed for extra storage facilities.

Love: North Wales Community Support was set up in March last year to give a platform to people offering help with shopping and prescriptions, donations of unwanted items, social interactions and giving advice.

The 8,000-member group, which has since set up a food bank at Meliden Community Centre and works alongside charities including Denbighshire Homeless, domestic abuse support service DASU and Warm Wales, is seeking a new premises to store its donations.

“The continued generosity of people means the space we currently have available has gotten quite full - particularly for larger items, such as beds, sofas or kitchen appliances,” said group founder Brian Taylor from Prestatyn.

“We are often having to either hope the donor can hang on them until we have a home for them or say we’re unable to take it, which is a shame as literally the next day someone could get referred who desperately needs a washing machine but if we’ve said no to it, it could have then been given or sold to someone else.”

The current space at Meliden Community Centre is around 1,500 square foot which includes a main room, a smaller room which houses the food bank and a small office.

The volunteer service is aiming to secure a new space of at least 2,000sqft in Denbighshire or Flintshire, where it would remain central to the communities it serves.

In addition to its foodbank, the volunteer service provides toiletries, baby goods, toys, children's clothes, baby and premature baby clothes. It also has access to bedding, kitchen and other household items including furniture needed by individuals and families in crisis.

This includes people who are facing job loss, debt and eviction, homelessness, fleeing violence, have drug or alcohol problems or are struggling with mental or physical health issues, younger people and asylum seekers and other problems.

Anyone has or knows of a premises that might be suitable can contact Mr Taylor by emailing lovenorthwales@gmail.com or calling 01745 850400.