A FORMER joiner has decided to put his skills to good use by making sustainable wooden toys in a bid to give shoppers a more environmentally-friendly choice.

Patrick Badham decided to set up a shop selling sustainable wooden toys and puppets after he and his wife Catherine got fed up with plastic toys which get broken easily.

Mr Badham, 42, said: “We are very excited - I have moved away from the building trade, I decided when it was cold and windy outside working that I’d like to have my own shop so I am looking forward to it.

“We both feel quite strongly about this (wooden toys) as we have got five children between us and the house gets full of broken toys made from plastic and it can be embarrassing when people come round.

“The wooden toys are something people can put out and know they look nice and look unique.”

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The shop, called Ginger and Pickles, will open in Upton next week.

Mr and Mrs Badham are both Upton locals, with Patrick having grown up in the town.

The two met when they were children and Mr Badham added: “Me and Catherine met at school, our first interaction was actually having an argument, but we always had a secret admiration for each other.

“We got back in touch about 10 years ago, got married and here we are.”

Mrs Badham runs the St Richard’s Hospice shop in Upton and has been helping her husband prepare the shop in New Street for its official opening on March 7.

She said: “There aren’t many places you can buy toys and things like that in Upton. Wooden toys can break down whereas plastic toys take decades to break down.

“It (the shop) will be toys and puppets, things that look a bit nicer - we went to the Malvern Spring Show and found some really good ethical suppliers.

“We’re not trying to be warriors, we just want to give people an alternative.”