A bowler from St Neots is appealing for empty printer ink cartridges and old mobile phones so that he can donate money to food banks.

Mike Friend, a bowler at the St Neots Indoor Bowls club, collects empty ink cartridges and recycles them at a plant in Milton Keynes.

Some can contain valuable metals and the plant give him money in exchange for it, he then donates this money to St Neots Food Bank.

He usually leaves a basket outside the bowls club in St Neots for people to donate their ink cartridges, but unfortunately the club has been closed for the foreseeable future and he is no longer able to collect the cartridges.

He wants to put an appeal out to the public to donate them and will leave a basket outside his house if they wish to donate.

Mr Friend said: “I’m actually quite shocked when I found out how many people in St Neots require the services of the food bank.

“There is also children who will go without any school meals, which makes me really upset.

“For the past couple of years I have been encouraging members and other complete strangers to give me their used or otherwise printer cartridges.

So far we have been able to give the food bank nearly a thousand pounds from discarded junk.

He will leave a basket outside his house at 30 Beatty Road, Eaton Socon, St Neots for people to place cartridges and phones in.

Mr Friend further said: “We can now take mobile phones as well. Last month we were able to donate a further £140.00, thanks to the bowlers, St Neots Camera Club and other benefactors who have so generously contributed.

“We are not able to recycle toner cartridges but all other printer cartridges and now mobile phones, I can.”

St Neots Foodbank provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis.

They are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.