AN Accrington man who launched a free online swap shop for people living in poverty has opened his fourth charity store.

Joe McMurrough's 'The Hyndburn Project', which has more than 32,000 members on its 'Free Items Around BB Postcodes' Facebook group, was recently given £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

The group gives away expensive household goods that would usually cost hundreds of pounds, such as washing machines, fridge freezers, and furniture, and relies on the goodness of strangers to keep going.

Joe, 54, said shops were now open in Accrington, opposite the town hall in Blackburn Road and in Richmond Street off Willows Lane, and in Whalley Road and Mill Street, both in Clayton-le-Moors.

He said: "They're helping thousands of people every week and it's 24 hours a day, it's not 9am to 5pm. Every minute of the day somebody is getting help or advice.

"I did not expect it to get anywhere near this big. You don't expect things like this to take off."

Joe said people abusing the generosity of others using the site is 'very rare' and, when it does happen, he is quickly alerted to it.

He said: "There's a lot more people giving than taking. I monitor the group and if anyone is taking advantage I remove them and their family members.

"It's very rare that it happens and I become aware of it very early on. We do check profiles. If someone is asking for too much, you may find they have their own Facebook group and are selling it.

"But it does not go on that much."

The group recently returned from a coach trip to Blackpool, which carried bus-loads of local children to the resort's Coral Island arcade for a day out.

As well as putting on a shopping trip to Liverpool in the near future, Joe said the group will host Lancashire's 'biggest Christmas party', at Accrington Town Hall, on Saturday, December 20, with 250 people expected to attend.