MAKE-DO and mend is the ethos behind an event taking place on Saturday (September 20).

A Fix-It Cafe will be hosted in Darlington in a bid to help people repair and restore items they may otherwise have thrown away.

Specialists will be on hand to give advice on fixing a variety of things – from cameras to musical equipment and sewing machines while those attending are also invited to bring in their broken items and share their own skills.

The event has been organised by Lindsay Duncanson and Marek Gabrysch from Newcastle.

Mr Gabrysch said: “It’s all about reusing and fixing stuff that normally would be discarded and it’s about teaching people to fix their own things.

“We’re not offering to fix these things, we’re offering to assist people in doing it for themselves in a shared environment around supportive people who can help them if they get stuck.”

He added: “We live in a world where things are designed to break and designed with a low life span in mind – it’s an unsustainable way of living and we don’t want to see it.

“I think by starting to fix things and trying to make small changes on a local level, we can have a global effect and see people take notice.”

The Fix-It Cafe is taking place ahead of the upcoming Festival of Thrift, a national festival organised to promote sustainable and thrifty living.

It will take place from noon on Saturday, September 20 at the Voodoo Cafe in Darlington and will offer free PAT testing.

The event will also be hosted at the Festival of Thrift, taking place at Darlington’s Lingfield Point on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28.