Local ladies of Bromsgrove seized the opportunity to brush up on essential DIY skills last week when Broad Street DIY hosted its third DIY Ladies Night.
The event was launched by Tony Warren, who established Broad St in 1979, who gave a short speech announcing the birth of baby Oliver, the first fourth generation family member to be born. DIY expert and TV celebrity Huntley Thawe then delivered an entertaining presentation quizzing guest about plumbing related products and how to use them to resolve common problems around the house such as water leaks and blocked drain pipes.

He also highlighted a serious message about the importance of installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, with nearly 25% of the women attending admitting they didn't have a carbon monoxide detector.

Guests were able to browse the store and view a number of live demonstrations demonstrations which included using a power drill, sawing wood, tiling techniques and putting fixings into plasterboard.

Members of staff, Mr Thawe and a number of local tradesmen were on the shop floor to answer any questions people had about specific jobs. A charity raffle raised £87.00 for Chadsgrove Special Education School - the shop's nominated charity for 2016.

Guest Lyndsay Kent said: "It was superb from start to finish and has encouraged me to continue with further DIY jobs."

Nicola Grady added: "I picked up some tips and I'm going to re-do the silicone in my bathrooms and kitchen. Thank you for a lovely evening."

Broad St director Hayley Warren feels the events create a hugely successful platform for encouraging women to tackle DIY tasks. "This was our third Ladies Night and as a team we feel we have now established the right mix of live demos and helpful advice, to meet the needs of our female shoppers. Our aim is to help ladies feel more confident about tackling DIY projects. This partly comes from knowing about the correct use of tools and the right materials for a job."