'Our town was divided - but our crafting group is still going strong'

Ten years ago, Tadcaster was a town "divided" - quite literally.

The collapse of a bridge over the River Wharfe during severe flooding split the North Yorkshire market town, famous for its breweries, in two.

A group of keen crafters then came together with the aim of "cheering people up" by decorating its historic centre with bunting.

A decade on, the "bunting bombers" have come a long way from "begging and borrowing" fabric, and 20 women now make up the Tadcrafters.

Since 2016, the Tadcrafters have become a community interest company (CIC) and taken on a range of creative projects at their monthly meetings at The Barn.

"Because the bridge collapsed, we were divided for a while", remembers Sandra Levitt, now a director of the CIC.

"Of course you get a group of women together and it's sort of 'Ooh, we like this. What else can we do?' and that's where it's grown from."

The group members hand-make around 3,000 items every year, from cushions to bags, and donate them to a number of different charities and organisations around the country, including St Leonard's Hospice.

"We reckon it is around £25,000 worth of stuff every year that we're making and it's usually about one and half tonnes of fabric and yarn that we save from landfill," adds the group's founder, Su Morgan.

"We have people who want to make a difference in their local community and they find this is a really good way to do it.

"We have people who just like to socialise and meet other people and we also have people who maybe otherwise don't get out very much at all and otherwise they can be very socially isolated."

The group is open to anyone who wants to take part and craft, regardless of previous experience or skill levels.

Coleen Paver has been attending for the past four years.

"It's really important for your mental health as much as anything but it's nice talking to other like-minded people.

"I'm surprised there aren't more groups like this."

Tadcrafters has expanded over the years and its umbrella now includes the Tadgrafters, who specialise in woodwork, as well as a gardening group and a beekeeping group.

A monthly offshoot has also been set up in the nearby town of Sherburn in Elmet.

Pam Zenner joined the group when she moved to Tadcaster three years ago knowing nobody in the area.

"It was great to get together with a lot of other women and do something useful."

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