YOUNGSTERS from Blackbird Leys learned how to restore furniture at an upcycle event on the estate.

The Conservation Volunteers arranged the session to teach people to save 'tired' furniture instead of throwing it away.

Lee Brackett has been restoring furniture for 10 years, and taught children how to strip, sand and repaint furniture using an old cabinet as an example.

The estate resident said: “The session was an opportunity for me to teach them some skills.

“We stripped the paint off this old nursery cabinet and brought it back to life.

“The children helped me to sand it and we used chalk paint to get a distressed, French look.

“Part of the thing I like about restoration is when someone’s thrown something away on the skip and you can turn it back into a lovely piece of furniture.

“It’s good to show children that they can have fun with it.”

A machine operator at the Pathway Workshop in Blackbird Leys, Mr Brackett also provided wooden coasters for the children to paint at the upcycle event on Friday ((10/4)) in The Barn, Nightingale Avenue.

Eleven-year-old Sarah McNally-Salmon and Rosie Rasala, 10, were among those getting their hands dirty.

Rosie said: “I enjoyed it – the paint was really pretty.”