A CHARITY that transforms clothing for disabled people is running short of vital thread.

Dressability, based in West Swindon, adapts garments to make life easier but relies on donations of items such as threads, zips and fabric to keep costs low.

However, supplies have dried up and recently the charity has found itself spending a £50 donation on a handful of reels.

“At the moment we are very low on threads. Generally speaking we get haberdashery donated to us. But we have not had much in and we’ve had to start buying it,” manager Sharon Toombs told the Advertiser.

She went out to buy thread from a local store and was shocked at how much it cost. “Even our own staff could not believe how little you get for £50. A £10 donation in reality only buys three reels of cotton.”

She explained: “We try to get as much stuff as we can for free because it benefits local people.

“Lots of people give it away, especially when they give up,” she said. Husbands also tended to dispose of their wives’ sewing baskets after bereavement.

“Most people would rather give it to us than throw it in the bin, but they need to know that we will have it.”

Any donations the charity cannot use are shared with two other local good causes – Swindon Scrapstore and Empower the Gambia. “So making a donation might help three charities,” she said.

The charity, which has Paralympic tennis player Louise Hunt as a trustee, accepts reels of thread, unused zips and other items.

“If anybody does have unwanted haberdashery they could drop it off to us,” said Sharon.

Dressability volunteers alter clothes with discreet zips and fastenings, to enable disabled and elderly people to dress themselves or be more comfortable in their clothes.

Ordinary actions like doing up buttons or pulling garments over their heads can be impossible.

So those who have suffered strokes or injury will go to the charity to have their own clothes adapted rather than having to buy new ones.

The seamstresses also make bags for medical aids, covers for wheelchairs and replace zips with Velcro.Their efforts can change lives and they have attracted disabled customers from around the country.

Anyone wanting to donate can visit dressability.org.uk or call in at Bradbury House, Westmead Drive.