Gardeners in East Lothian are being invited to bring old or unwanted tools to a new re-cycling point at Dunbar Garden Centre.

The donated tools will be refurbished by women in custody at HMP Edinburgh, as part of The Conservation Foundation’s Tools Shed project, and then distributed to local schools and community gardeners.

Jim Shields and Craig Widdowson, who run the project at the prison, and Nick Donaghey, manager at Dunbar Garden Centre, launched the scheme at the Spott Road centre with local Tools Shed co-ordinators Andrew and Angela Davies.

Picture shows Jim Shields, Regimes Manager at HMP Edinburgh and Nick Donaghey, manager of Dunbar Garden Centre with Ava Thornburn and Rowan Robertson (in the wheeliebin), pupils at Dunbar Primary School.

They were joined by children and staff from Countess After School Club in Dunbar and the Ridge Project in Belhaven, who were presented with items from the Tools Shed workshop.

"Not only will this help the local community and schools but it is a great way for gardeners to dispose of their old, unwanted tools,” said Nick Donaghey. “ So many of us have broken tools at the back of the garden shed that are forgotten about, so we are encouraging gardeners to bring these tools to us, a simple way of ‘spring cleaning' your garden shed.”

James Shields, regimes manager at HMP Edinburgh, said: “The Tools Shed project has provided an ideal opportunity for HMP Edinburgh to develop positive and beneficial links with community groups in the capital, and I’m delighted that we are extending the project to include East Lothian.

“Participating in the project boosts the skills and well-being of the women involved in HMP Edinburgh, and it’s fantastic to see them contributing to communities and enabling the work of these local groups to continue.”

David Shreeve, The Conservation Foundation’s Director, said: “Tools Shed has been steadily growing over the years and we now work with a number of prisons around the country.

“We’re delighted that it’s proving so successful in Scotland, thanks in no small part to the enthusiasm and commitment of the governor, staff and inmates at HMP Edinburgh and the support we receive from garden centres and other horticultural organisations in and around Edinburgh. It’s great to have Dunbar Garden Centre on board now.”

Tools Shed was piloted initially with HMP Wandsworth before being extended to other prisons. Currently tools are being repaired at Morton Hall IRC, High Down Prison in Surrey, Northumberland, Dartmoor, Cardiff, Parc and Wandsworth Prisons, as well as at HMP Edinburgh.