CLACKS support group Home Start will open a charity shop in Alloa's Shillinghill in the coming weeks, and needs locals' support to get things up and running.

The organisation has been helping Wee County families with young children deal with the challenges they face for 30 years.

But now, it also wants to support the wider community with its latest venture.

Shelley Bowman, 52, the charity's operations manager, talked about the group's plans.

She said: "Because of our name a lot of people associate that with starting out again and moving into a new tenancy, that sort of thing.

"We get calls about people with donations asking if we'd take them, and we do and then pass them on to families.

"But now we've decided to open a charity shop."

Not only will the shop provide an outlet for people to buy cheap household goods, but Home Start also wants shop volunteers to gain official qualifications for their work.

Shelley said: "We're speaking to Coalfields Regeneration Trust about offering a qualification to the volunteers in the shop.

"It's open to anybody who comes in off the street and says: 'I want to volunteer, I want to learn new skills, or get back into employment.'

"They'd get the support to do that, and also a qualification too."

The aim is to provide volunteers with qualifications that could help them later in life.

She said: "I think the shop will be amazing, but being able to help people move forward with their lives too is just amazing for us."

An opening date for the charity shop has yet to be finalised, but the team need potential volunteers to come forward now to help get things moving.

If you want to volunteer, or hear more about the project, message Home Start on Facebook, or call 01259 213453.