A Milton Keynes grandad has been turning old mobile phones into wall artwork, to raise money to fight cancer for young people.
A grandad and veteran from Milton Keynes has been turning old mobile phones from Freegle into wall art - all to raise money to fight cancer for young people.
David Sutton, 69 from Westcroft explains: “When I retired, I got bored sitting at home - so about 7 year ago, I took some local, council-run art classes and that’s what got me making things.
“Lots of old or damaged phones are being thrown away, or left in drawers and forgotten about. I hate wastage and seeing them dumped, so I wondered if there was anything that could be done with them.
“I started making them into these displays that show people the pieces the phones are made out of. It’s incredible to see how many bits each one has. I posted them on Facebook Marketplace and to my surprise, people started asking if they could buy them. When they all sold, I started making more!
“I needed more phones, so, I asked on Freegle if anyone had any more spare or broken phones and everyone has been very generous. I’ve been all over Milton Keynes collecting them.
“I’ve made around 20 now, and I’ve done all types of phones - from very old ones to the most modern iPhones. One of the most popular ones I did recently was a Samsung Galaxy S6.
“I take the profit that I make from selling them, and donate it to a local Children’s Cancer Charity. It gives the phone a second life.”
Michael Hoeben, 57, a bookkeeper, who set up the Milton Keynes Freegle Community and helps look after it with 3 other volunteers said: “Freegle is like online dating for stuff.
"We connect people who have stuff they don't need with people nearby who need stuff they don't have. It's free to join, free to use, and everything on it is free - and it saves money, hassle and the planet - all at the same time.
“We love David’s project and are so happy to hear that he’s been able to give these items a new life, reduce waste and help people in need.
“I'm originally from South Africa, and most items from clothing to electricals got handed down through families and then to family friends or workers. So broken irons to holey socks were immediately repaired or passed to others to reuse.”
“We’d love to hear how other locals have used Freegle to improve the community!”
To request an item, or list one as available, click here.
