A BIRKENHEAD women’s charity is transforming rags into riches after winning more than £6,000 worth of funding for a variety of recycling training sessions.

Tomorrow’s Women Wirral - a project committed to reducing female imprisonment, offending and help those who want to make positive lifestyle changes – has been awarded £6,693 from the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Veolia Environmental Services.

The funding has enabled the group to buy sewing machines, trestle tables, recycling and compost bins and hire a tutor to help train volunteers to recycle old clothes and create useful items from discarded materials.

After selling a range of popular Christmas tree decorations made from recycled fabric, more than 30 women are now learning how to convert unwanted textiles into everything from plant holders and draught excluders to handbags.

The group, funded by the Community Fund, is now selling its latest handiwork at their local car boot sales and has also started collecting unwanted clothing for sale.

Angela Murphy of Tomorrow’s Women Wirral said: “The training sessions are going really well. 

“The women are very keen to learn, are coming up with great ideas and are sharing their knowledge within their own communities. 

“We have proved we can make things from old textiles and plastic that people want to buy.

“That is great news not just for the environment but also for putting funds back into our charity.”

Cllr Graham Morgan, MRWA Chairperson said: “The TWW’s project is a great example of how a relatively modest grant can have a big impact – both on the lives of people working with community groups and recycling habits in that area. “